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Circle

Circle launches Gateway for USDC transfers across seven blockchains

by admin August 19, 2025

Stablecoin issuer Circle has launched Gateway, enabling instant USDC transfers across seven major blockchains.

Summary

Circle launched Gateway to unify USDC liquidity across seven blockchains
Gateway connects USDC on Arbitrum, Avalanche, Base, Ethereum, OP Mainnet, Polygon PoS, and Unichain on launch day
According to Circle, Balances will be accessible cross-chain in <500 ms

Circle has made a significant step in USDC usability. On Tuesday, August 19, Circle launched Gateway on mainnet, connected to seven major blockchains. The platform unifies USDC balances across Arbitrum, Avalanche, Base, Ethereum, OP Mainnet, Polygon PoS, and Unichain on launch day. Circle announced expansions on other chains, with Arc next in line.

Currently, stablecoin liquidity is fragmented across several blockchains. For this reason, exchanges require more capital to operate, and managing their treasuries is complicated. Moreover, rebalancing creates delays and higher costs.

Gateway provides a unified USDC balance across several chains, using a mix of smart contracts and off-chain attestation. According to Circle, cross-chain transfers happen in less than 500 ms, providing a single-chain experience.

Moreover, assets in the Gateway Wallet are self-custodial, remaining under user control. Specifically, assets cannot be burned or minted without user authorization. Additionally, users can initiate a trustless withdrawal even if the Gateway API is unavailable.

Circle riding on growing stablecoin demand

Users have to deposit USDC into a Gateway Wallet contract on any chain. As soon as they do, balances update on all chains. To transfer funds, the Gateway Minter mints USDC on the destination chain while burning on the source chain.

Circle is riding the wave of growing stablecoin adoption. According to the company’s Q2 reports, the company earned $658 million in revenue, up 53% from the previous year. The main reason for this rise was an 86% in USDC circulation, driven by demand for stablecoins.

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August 19, 2025 0 comments

GameFi Guides

3 Crypto IPOs In The Pipeline Post Circle (CRLC) And Bullish (BLSH) Stellar Debut

by admin August 19, 2025

Trusted Editorial content, reviewed by leading industry experts and seasoned editors. Ad Disclosure

The recent surge in interest and adoption of digital assets has catalyzed a shift in the financial landscape, leading to a wave of successful crypto initial public offerings (IPOs). With three notable debuts on the horizon, the trend is gaining traction, driven by the impressive performance of recent market entrants.

Crypto IPO Boom

In the past few months, Circle (CRCL), the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, and Bullish (BLSH), a crypto exchange backed by Peter Thiel, have both experienced significant demand, resulting in substantial increases in their stock prices.

This resurgence follows the earlier successes of Coinbase (COIN) and Robinhood (HOOD), which have seen their shares spike nearly 500% and 60%, respectively, over the past year.

In addition, the recent market rally which saw Bitcoin (BTC) reached a new record price beyond $124,000, has created a sense of urgency among crypto and fintech operators, as highlighted by a report from The Street, which noted a growing fear of missing out (FOMO) in the sector.

This renewed interest is further buoyed by favorable pro-crypto policies emerging from the US and President Donald Trump’s vision of making the country the “crypto capital of the world,” alongside rising prices. As a result, numerous firms are now vying for a spot on Wall Street.

Grayscale, Gemini, And BitGo

One of the frontrunners in this wave is asset manager and crypto exchange-traded fund (ETF) issuer Grayscale. Known for its role in bringing crypto investments to mainstream finance through its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust and Grayscale Ethereum Trust, the firm manages over $33 billion in assets.

With plans to capitalize on its robust management fee revenue, Grayscale has confidentially filed for an initial public offering, marking an important step in its ongoing journey in the digital asset space.

Next in line is Gemini, the cryptocurrency exchange founded by the Winklevoss twins. After a decade of attempting to launch a Bitcoin fund, the twins pivoted to establishing their own exchange, which has since become one of the largest in the market.

With crypto demand on the rise, Gemini aims to leverage its strong market position by filing for an IPO, seeking to reflect the valuation it achieved during a funding round in November 2021, which was around $7.1 billion.

BitGo, a major player in crypto custody, is also preparing to join the ranks of firms seeking to go public. Custodying over $100 billion in assets, BitGo has positioned itself as a key service provider for exchanges, asset managers, and other businesses, offering a range of services including staking and trading.

The firm’s substantial growth in assets suggests it is ready for a larger presence in the market, although further details will emerge once its confidential IPO filing becomes public.

The recent success of Circle and Bullish underscores the potential for crypto IPOs. Both companies saw their stock prices soar upon debut, with Bullish’s shares opening at $90—a 143% increase from its IPO price—and Circle’s stock launching at $69, reflecting a 168% rise from its initial offering of $31.

The hourly chart shows CRLC’s valuation trending downwards. Source: CRCL on TradingView.com

However, it’s worth noting that Circle’s stock has since seen a significant decline, dropping more than 50% toward its current valuation of $147, from its peak of $298 reached in June. BLSH on the other hand trades at $64, representing a 45% drop from its $117 record.

Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com

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August 19, 2025 0 comments

NFT Gaming

Circle (CRCL) Acquires Malachite to Power Its Upcoming Blockchain Arc

by admin August 18, 2025

Stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL) has acquired Malachite, the consensus engine that is set to underpin payments-focused blockchain Arc, from software development firm Informal Systems, according to a Monday press release.

Several people from Informal Systems will join Circle as part of the acquisition. The firms didn’t reveal details about pricing.

The deal comes as Circle, the company behind the $65 billion USDC (USDC) token, announced last week it’s building its own layer-1 blockchain designed for stablecoin finances, a recent trend among asset issuers aiming to capitalize on the booming sector. Stablecoins, a set of cryptocurrencies with prices tied to an external asset like the U.S. dollar, are projected to become a trillion dollar market and disrupt cross-border payments.

Malachite was built around the Tendermint consensus algorithm and was designed for flexibility and correctness in decentralized systems. Informal Systems developed it as a reusable foundation for blockchain infrastructure, with a focus on performance and security.

Malachite will remain open source under the Apache 2.0 license, leaving developers free to use and extend the technology, the press release said. Informal will continue supporting other use cases for Malachite and advance its other projects, including tools for distributed systems and cross-chain infrastructure.

Read more: Why Circle and Stripe (And Many Others) Are Launching Their Own Blockchains

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August 18, 2025 0 comments

GameFi Guides

Why Circle, Stripe Are Launching Their Own Blockchains

by admin August 17, 2025

Every day, there seems to be a new blockchain for stablecoins.

Or at least that’s how it felt this week, when USDC (USDC) issuer Circle announced Arc, its own settlement network, shortly after payments giant Stripe accidentally revealed Tempo, built in collaboration with Paradigm.

They were the latest in a growing list. Startups Plasma and Stable both raised funds recently to develop dedicated chains for USDT (USDT), the $160 billion and largest stablecoin on the market.

Tokenization players are piling in, too.

Securitize is building Converge with Ethena, Ondo Finance announced its upcoming in-house chain earlier this year, and, just days ago, Dinari said it will soon launch an Avalanche-powered layer-1 network for clearing and settling tokenized stocks.

Stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets are rapidly growing segments of the crypto economy, and analysts project them to swell into trillion-dollar asset classes in the not too distant future. Stablecoins are poised to disrupt cross-border payments, while tokenization allows traditional instruments like bonds, funds and stocks trade around-the clock with faster settlements on blockchain rails, proponents say.

Read more: Stablecoin Payments Projected to Top $1T Annually by 2030, Market Maker Keyrock Says

Why build L1s?

Today, the vast majority of these tokens live and settle on public blockchains like Ethereum, Solana or Tron. These neutral networks give issuers global reach and liquidity, but they also come with certain constraints for asset issuers.

“Building their own L1 is about control and strategic positioning, not just technology,” said Martin Burgherr, chief clients officer at crypto bank Sygnum.

Stablecoin economics are shaped by settlement speed, interoperability, and regulatory alignment, so “owning the base layer” lets firms directly embed compliance, integrate foreign exchange engine and ensure predictable fees, he said.

There’s also a defensive motive. “Today, stablecoin issuers depend on Ethereum, Tron or others for settlement,” Burgherr said. “That reliance means exposure to external fee markets, protocol governance decisions, and technical bottlenecks.”

Custom chains allow companies to issue their own gas tokens, control transaction costs and keep network performance isolated from unrelated activity that may clog the network, said Morgan Krupetsky, VP of ecosystem growth at Ava Labs.

Increasingly, she said, blockchains are becoming the “middle and back office” of a company’s operations, powering transactions behind the scenes while user-facing apps may live across multiple chains.

“The idea of a company owning and customizing their end-to-end blockchain infrastructure is increasingly appealing,” she said.

The economics can be even more compelling than the tech. “The revenue opportunity from owning the settlement layer will dwarf traditional payment processing margins, said Guillaume Poncin, chief technology officer at web3 development platform Alchemy.

He said that the new chains can offer additional control and the ability to implement know-your-customer (KYC) checks and other innovations at the protocol level. While L1s can offer full customization, rollups are faster to deploy and secure.

In either case, Poncin noted, compatibility with Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) makes it far easier to integrate with other blockchains and speed adoption.

How could this impact existing L1s?

It’s way too early to tell how the new chains will impact the incumbents, but some networks may feel the competition sooner than others, analysts said.

Coinbase analysts led by David Duong argued in a Friday report that Circle’s Arc and Stripe’s Tempo are targeting high-throughput, low-fee payments, which is Solana’s (SOL) sweet spot. Meanwhile, Ethereum with its institution-heavy user base is less likely to be disrupted in the near term, they wrote.

The process for the entrants to win over users could take years, Sygnum’s Burgherr said.

“New entrants will need not just technology, but also years of trust-building to shift the deepest liquidity and highest-value payments away from incumbent rails,” he said. “Financial institutions prize proven security, custody integration, and resilience under real-world stress.”

“That’s why Ethereum remains the institutional ‘Fort Knox,’” he said.

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August 17, 2025 0 comments

NFT Gaming

Which Crypto IPOs Could Be Next Following Circle?

by admin June 22, 2025

In brief

Circle’s NYSE debut raised $1.1 billion and saw shares quadruple, making it one of the strongest crypto IPO in recent times.
With the Trump administration rolling back SEC enforcement and signaling regulatory cooperation, companies now see a clear path to listing.
Gemini, Bullish, and FalconX are among several crypto firms actively preparing IPOs, testing whether crypto firms can gain lasting traction on U.S. equity markets.

Stablecoin issuer Circle’s debut on the New York Stock Exchange exceeded expectations after its stock quadrupled from its $31 IPO price within 24 hours, raising over $1.1 billion and becoming the largest crypto IPO in recent history.

Now, several major crypto firms are vying to go public—from prime brokerages to exchanges—the political and economic winds are beginning to shift in their favor.

President Donald Trump’s administration has pushed for a more conducive environment for the industry, as the SEC continues to drop major enforcement cases leftover from the Biden era.

It also marks crypto’s most significant push into mainstream finance since Bitcoin ETFs were approved in January of last year, as pension funds and asset managers seek exposure, while firms fish for capital to scale up and meet changing investor demands.

Here are a few of the companies lining up to go public.

FalconX

FalconX, valued at $8 billion during its last funding round in 2022, is considering a New York Stock Exchange listing as early as this year, according to sources who spoke with Decrypt this month.

The crypto-focused prime brokerage has held preliminary discussions with bankers and consultants about the IPO process, though it hasn’t yet secured an underwriting bank.

“When you launch an IPO, you need to have a story,” one source familiar with the matter told Decrypt. “You’re selling yourself to the investing public.”

The firm is exploring ways to enhance its public profile ahead of a potential public debut, while also ramping up strategic partnerships and acquisitions to meet the growing institutional demand for crypto.

Gemini

The Winklevoss twins didn’t wait long. Less than 24 hours after Circle’s debut, Gemini confirmed it had filed a confidential S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

“The number of shares of Class A common stock to be offered and the price range… have not yet been determined,” Gemini said in its IPO filing.

Although the company has yet to disclose timing or valuation targets, insiders expect the listing to occur before the end of the year.

Bullish

Bullish, the crypto exchange backed by billionaire Peter Thiel, has filed for a U.S. IPO with investment bank Jefferies potentially leading the offering.

The company previously walked away from a $9 billion SPAC combination with Far Peak in 2021 as crypto markets collapsed.

Led by former NYSE president Tom Farley, Bullish offers blockchain-based trading with institutional-grade infrastructure.

The company was founded in 2021 as a subsidiary of Block.one and raised $10 billion in digital assets and cash from heavyweight investors, including Peter Thiel, Louis Bacon, and Richard Li.

TRON

Justin Sun’s TRON is taking a different route—going public through a reverse merger with Nasdaq-listed SRM Entertainment.

The deal was brokered by Dominari Securities, a firm tied to Eric and Donald Trump Jr.

While Eric Trump later clarified that he had “no public involvement” in the listing, TRON’s pivot to U.S. markets suggests a regulatory thawing.

The transaction follows TRON’s transition from foundation control to TRON Tech Ltd, a British Virgin Islands firm believed to be owned by Sun, in response to regulatory pressure, including a 2023 SEC lawsuit that was later resolved.

Kraken

Major U.S. crypto exchange Kraken’s parent company, Payward Inc., is reportedly streamlining operations ahead of a potential IPO in 2026, although the company later said it isn’t rushing to go public.

“I think the way we think about it is that, if it’s in service to our clients to going public, building that trust as a currency, then we’ll think about doing it. So we’ll always be ready for it, but it may not be that we’ll have it on a specific date,” co-CEO Arjun Sethi told Axios in March.

“We’ll pursue public markets as it makes sense for our clients, our partners, and shareholders,” a Kraken spokesperson told Decrypt.

Bithumb

South Korea’s second-largest crypto exchange, Bithumb, is preparing for an IPO by late 2025, according to local media reports.

The exchange has rebounded to claim 25% of the local market, up from single digits in 2023, following years of decline after a $30 million hack in 2018.

Bithumb plans to restructure into two entities on July 31, 2025: Bithumb Korea (the exchange arm) and Bithumb A (managing other business ventures).

The exchange will list on South Korea’s Kosdaq first, with a possible Nasdaq listing to follow for global investor access. Samsung Securities will reportedly underwrite the offering.

Bitkub

Thailand’s leading crypto exchange, Bitkub, plans to go public on the Thailand Stock Exchange this year to raise capital and boost market presence.

CEO Jirayut Srupsrisopa confirmed last year that the company had hired financial advisers to prepare for the IPO, according to a Bloomberg report.

Final thoughts

If current momentum holds, 2025 may mark the year crypto finally breaks into Wall Street’s inner circle—for good.

Coinbase’s direct listing in April 2021 was the first major test. COIN opened at $381 and briefly touched a $100 billion valuation before closing at $328.28 on its first day.

Since then, the stock has seen sharp swings, trading as low as $33 in 2022 during the crypto winter before rebounding above $330 in mid-2025, as per Google Finance data.

But the stock did fade a little under regulatory pressure and market volatility. Circle’s breakout, backed by a friendlier administration and clearer optics, shows how far the scenario has shifted since then.

“In today’s market, the strongest IPO candidates combine explosive growth, real business models, and category-defining positioning,” Alex Felix, co-founder and CIO of CoinFund, told Decrypt.

“Two of the most successful IPOs this year—CoreWeave and Circle—highlight how public investors are eager for exposure to crypto and AI,” he said. “We expect more companies will follow in their footsteps, as there is a tremendous amount of growth in these two sectors.”

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June 22, 2025 0 comments

Crypto Trends

ARK Invest Sells $146M in Circle Stock After 675% IPO Surge

by admin June 22, 2025

ARK Invest has sold another $146.3 million worth of Circle (CRCL) stock just two weeks after its recently launched IPO. The largest reduction came from the ARKK ETF, which sold 490,549 shares, or about 1.8% of the portfolio. Additional shares were offloaded from ARKW and ARKF, bringing the total number of shares sold to over 609,000.

This move comes as Circle’s jaw-dropping 675% surge in share price, from its IPO listing at $31 to $240.28 per share. This IPO has been described as the most explosive public debut of any U.S. company raising $500 million or more since 1980.

Despite the sell-off, ARK Invest, led by CEO Cathie Wood, still holds 2.52 million shares of Circle (7.80% of the portfolio), valued at $154 million. This makes Circle among the top holdings in ARK’s flagship ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK). After Circle, with a close call Coinbase (COIN) comes in as the second-largest holding valued at $152 million (7.71% of the portfolio).

At the same time, ARK Invest is diversifying its portfolio by rotating into traditional tech leaders, adding shares of AMD, Shopify, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company across its ETFs.

Circle’s relevance in the crypto space remains strong. Its stablecoin, USDC, is the second-largest globally, with $61.26 billion in circulation, trailing only Tether’s USDT. Meanwhile, Shopify has enabled USDC payments through Base, a Layer 2 Ethereum network, making it easier for merchants to accept crypto payments.

Also Read: Ark Invest sells $44.8M in Circle shares a day after $51.7M sale

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June 22, 2025 0 comments

NFT Gaming

ARK Invest Dumps $146.3M More Circle Shares After Meteoric IPO Surge

by admin June 22, 2025

ARK Invest unloaded another round of shares of Circle (CRCL) across its ETFs just two weeks after the stablecoin issuer’s high-profile IPO.

The biggest cut came from the flagship ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK), which sold 490,549 shares, or about 1.8% of the portfolio. ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW) and ARK Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF) also reduced exposure, selling 75,018 and 43,608 shares, respectively. Making the total sales worth about $146.3 million, based on the June 20 closing price of $240.28 per share.

This marks the third and biggest wave of CRCL share selling since the IPO. Previously, it sold $50 million and $44.7 million worth of shares.

The move follows a massive rally in Circle’s stock, which debuted at $31 on June 5 and surged to $240 by the closing bell on Friday, a gain of more than 670% in just over two weeks.

The IPO was the most explosive for any U.S. company raising $500 million or more since 1980, according to Fortune. Investors rushed in, fueled by regulatory tailwinds like the Senate’s passage of the GENIUS Act, aimed at setting clearer rules for stablecoins.

While paring down its Circle stake, ARK rotated outside the crypto space. Across multiple ETFs, the firm added shares of chipmaker AMD, e-commerce giant Shopify, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company.

Circle’s USDC stablecoin is currently the second-largest by market capitalization with $61.26 billion in circulation. Tether’s USDT still holds the lion’s share of the stablecoin market, with $155.88 billion in circulation.

Support for USDC has nevertheless been growing rapidly. Coinbase Derivatives revealed earlier this week that it’s collaborating with Nodal Clear to integrate the stablecoin as collateral in regulated U.S. futures markets, while Shopify is enabling USDC payments via Base.

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June 22, 2025 0 comments

Crypto Trends

Cathie Wood’s ARK Dumps $146M More Circle Shares

by admin June 21, 2025

Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest has increased its Circle selling spree as CRCL stock surged nearly 250% since its public debut.

ARK dumped another 609,175 Circle shares from its three funds for $146.2 million on Friday, according to a trade notification seen by Cointelegraph.

The sale came amid a 20.4% jump in the company’s shares on Friday, closing at $240.3, or 248% above the opening price of $69 on the New York Stock Exchange on June 5.

The most recent dump marked the third sale by ARK in the past trading week, with all three sales totaling 1.25 million CRCL shares, netting roughly $243 million based on the daily closing prices.

ARK sells about 300,000 CRCL shares daily

ARK’s latest Circle stock sale involved transactions from the three ARK funds, including the ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK), ARK Next Generation internet ETF (ARKW) and ARK Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF).

The largest fund, ARKK, sold 490,549 CRCL shares, while ARKW and ARKF offloaded 75,018 shares and 43,608 shares, respectively.

ARK sold 609,175 Circle shares from ARKK, ARKW and ARKF on June 20. Source: ARK Invest

The company sold $45 million on Tuesday, after making another $52 million sale on Monday.

Related: Stablecoins will soon have their ‘iPhone moment,’ Circle CEO

ARK is the 8th largest holder of Circle

ARK’s total sale of Circle shares over the past week represents nearly 29% of the company’s 4.49 million CRCL shares it purchased at Circle’s public launch on June 5.

Despite the massive sale, ARK remains one of the largest CRCL holders, ranking the eighth largest investor as of June 20, 3:00 pm UTC, according to Bloomberg Terminal data.

Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest is the eighth-largest holder of Circle shares. Source: Bloomberg Terminal

According to the data, Beijing-based IDG-Accel China Capital Fund II is the largest Circle holder with 23.3 million shares, followed by General Catalyst Group Management and James Breyer, holding 20.1 million shares and 16.7 million shares, respectively.

The top three holdings of the ARKW fund as of June 20. Source: ARK Invest

ARK continues to hold $750.4 million worth of Circle shares as of June 20, with CRCL becoming the top holding in the ARKW fund with a weight of 7.8%.

Magazine: Bitcoin’s invisible tug-of-war between suits and cypherpunks

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June 21, 2025 0 comments

Crypto Trends

USDC Issuer Circle Spikes After Wall Street Firm Initiates With Buy Rating

by admin June 21, 2025

In brief

Circle (CRCL) surged 14% to $228 after Seaport Global initiated coverage with a buy rating and $235 price target, calling it a “top-tier crypto disruptor.”
The rally was fueled by the Senate’s passage of the GENIUS Act stablecoin legislation, which would create the first federal framework for dollar-pegged stablecoins.
Circle and Coinbase both benefited from the regulatory momentum due to their revenue-sharing agreement on $61.2 billion in USDC cash reserves, while Robinhood declined 1.65%.

USDC issuer Circle was buoyant in pre-market trading Friday, climbing above $236 ahead of the opening bell. That put it ahead of the $235 price target set by Wall Street research firm Seaport Global, which initiated coverage of the company today with a buy rating.

But once the bell rang, the company’s stock, which trades on the NYSE under the CRCL ticker, settled and is currently changing hands around $228, or 14% higher than its previous close.

Seaport announced that it was initiating coverage of Circle on Friday, before markets opened. The firm’s analyst Jeff Cantwell called the stablecoin issuer “top-tier crypto ’disruptor’,” and said he thinks the $260 billion stablecoin market will balloon to $2 trillion.

In the analysis, which Cantwell shared with Decrypt, Cantwell wrote that USDC was always meant to be disruptive. ““Early on, Circle’s founders envisioned the development of an ‘HTTP for Money’, to make money more frictionless in order to help raise global economic prosperity,” he said.

Cantwell also predicted that investors will see Circle’s annual revenue grow up to 30%, with gross margins around 40%, as it continues to scale.

And although interest rates are working in Circle’s favor now, he said the company’s strength could also be its biggest risk. “Nearly all of Circle’s revenue still comes from interest earned on reserve assets — 99% in both 2023 and 2024,” he wrote. “This is both a strength and a risk if interest rates fall.”

Both Circle and crypto exchange Coinbase have captured a lot of investor attention since the Senate voted in favor of key stablecoin legislation, the GENIUS Act, on Tuesday afternoon. That’s because the two companies have an agreement that sees them splitting the interest earned on the $61.2 billion worth of cash reserves backing the company’s stablecoin tokens.

The GENIUS Act, if signed into law, would represent the first comprehensive federal framework for U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoins.

Coinbase, which trades on the Nasdaq under the COIN ticker, started Friday 3% above its Wednesday close. (Remember: Markets were closed in the U.S. on Thursday, June 19, in observance of Juneteenth.)

But trading platform Robinhood—which is less exclusively tied to crypto assets and doesn’t have links to a stablecoin—got off to a bumpy start on Friday morning. The company, which trades on the Nasdaq under the HOOD ticker, is trading for $76.76, or 2% lower than it was on Wednesday afternoon.

HOOD on Wednesday hit a 52-week high of $77.83, surpassing the $61 price target set for it by Deutsche Bank and $69 set by Cantor Fitzgerald earlier this year.

But it has a ways to go before it closes in on the $90 price target of Summit Redstone Partners’ Michael Cyprys.

Just last week, Robinhood reported that total platform assets grew to $225 billion in May, up 10% from April and a staggering 89% hike compared to the same time last year.

Edited by James Rubin

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June 21, 2025 0 comments

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Public Keys: Circle and Coinbase Get GENIUS Bump, Bitcoin Treasuries on Shaky Ground?

by admin June 20, 2025

In brief

Circle’s stock skyrocketed following the Senate’s GENIUS Act vote, with shares climbing from $156 to $248 and analysts predicting the stablecoin market could reach $2 trillion.
Bitcoin treasury companies like Semler Scientific are struggling with thin premiums over their BTC holdings, while newer entrants like Fold are raising capital for Bitcoin purchases.
Tron is pursuing a Nasdaq listing through reverse merger with SRM Entertainment, while Bitdeer’s stock fell after a $330M capital raise and FalconX explores IPO options.

Public Keys is a weekly roundup from Decrypt that tracks the key publicly traded crypto companies.

This week: Circle and Coinbase surge on stablecoin legislation movement, the Bitcoin treasury model raises concerns, and sources tell Decrypt that another crypto firm is eyeing an IPO this year.

Stroke of GENIUS

It makes sense that this week’s Senate vote in favor of the GENIUS Act was great for stablecoin issuers—but Circle has gone above and beyond.

The company’s CRCL shares, which trade on the New York Stock Exchange, opened at $156.36 on Tuesday—the day of the Senate’s historic vote. Since then, the stock has skyrocketed, hitting a new peak just shy of $249 on Friday and finishing the day above $240.

For those keeping track, that means the company’s share price peaked at eight times that of its $31 IPO. It’s been just over two weeks since CRCL started trading.

Circle has been helped along by the fact that Wall Street analysts can’t help but rate the company highly. Jeff Cantwell, a senior analyst at Seaport Research Partners, initiated coverage on CRCL today with a buy rating and $235 price target.

Circle made it to that target before the bell even rang, dipped, and then shot past it.

“Circle’s strategy is to build the largest, most widely used stablecoin network in the world… This strikes us as a ‘TAM/adoption’ story,” Cantwell wrote in a note shared with Decrypt. TAM is Wall Street shorthand for total addressable market. And Cantwell reckons most of his peers are underestimating just how big the stablecoin market will become.

“We think the overall stablecoin market cap will reach $500 billion by the end of next year; longer-term, we think it ultimately can reach $2 trillion,” he said. That would mean the $260 billion stablecoin market will double in the next six months.

Buckle up, kids.

For what it’s worth, Coinbase, which trades on the Nasdaq under the COIN ticker and co-founded USDC with Circle, has received its own GENIUS-inspired gains. Its stock rose about 30% this week and closed Friday above $308, up more than 4% on the day.

Not an exact science?

Michael Saylor, Strategy co-founder and chairman, famously quipped about Bitcoin, “There is no second best.” It’s even been turned into a song.

But it’s starting to look like Stategy’s Bitcoin treasury company blueprint is really difficult to follow—and that’s not for lack of Saylor & Co. trying to spread the gospel.

Earlier this week, Nasdaq-listed healthcare firm Semler Scientific appeared to be flashing warning signs to investors. On Tuesday, the company was valued at a razor-thin premium compared to its Bitcoin holdings. Its mNAV, or multiple-to-net asset value had fallen to 1.07.

mNAV is a rough measure of how much premium investors assign to its Bitcoin holdings.

Since Tuesday, Semler’s mNAV has improved slightly to 1.23, according to the company’s website.

That’s after the company said Friday morning that it wants to amass 105,000 Bitcoin by 2027. That pushed the stock to a closing price of $36.14, or 13% higher than its Wednesday close. But the company’s shares are still way below the $55.05 they were at the start of the year and half what they were in December, when shares were trading above $78.

Now financial services firm Fold is selling $250 million worth of shares in an effort to turn that cash into a BTC treasury. The company’s shares were trading for $4.57 when it made its announcement on Tuesday. By Friday afternoon, they had slipped to $4.50.

Funny enough, the Bitcoin treasury companies with the best unrealized gains are Tesla and Block, Inc.. The companies have an average cost basis of $33,539 and $30,405, respectively, which means their holdings have net unrealized gains that are more than three times what they paid.

Block has never sold any of its Bitcoin, but Tesla’s unrealized gains could have been even higher. Remember: The company sold 75% of its BTC in 2022, when BTC was trading around $24,000.

Other Keys

Tron goes public the Trump way—maybe: Justin Sun is taking Tron public by way of a reverse merger with Nasdaq-listed SRM Entertainment. The company has ties to Eric Trump. Or at least it seemed that way, until the President’s son denied “public involvement”—though he’s on the advisory board of Domnari Securities, which is brokering the deal. The deal values the combined firm at $210 million and includes a $100 million token purchase from SRM.
Bitdeer in headlights: Bitcoin miner Bitdeer’s share price plummeted after upsizing its most recent capital raise to $330 million. The raise was not to buy Bitcoin, but rather to pay $129.6 million in zero-strike call options, $36.1 million to pay cash considerations, and the rest for data center expansion. The sale is expected to close Monday, so we’ll know soon how many investors took them up on the offering. BTDR finished the week down 12%.
FalconX wants to FlyPO. Crypto prime broker FalconX is in early talks for an IPO. Sources familiar with the discussions told Decrypt reporter Liz Napolitano that the company has already spoken to investment bankers and other experts about the public listing process, but hasn’t actually hired an investment bank just yet.

Edited by James Rubin

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June 20, 2025 0 comments