Circle IPO has peculiar Facebook-like characteristic

Jeremy Allaire, co-founder and CEO of Circle, speaks at the 2025 TIME100 Summit in New York on April 23, 2025. Stablecoin issuer Circle stands to be one of the first significant cryptocurrency companies to go public in the U.S. That's not the only unusual aspect of its IPO. In Circle's updated prospectus on Tuesday, the company said it would sell 9.6 million shares in the offering, while existing shareholders would sell 14.4 million shares. It's exceedingly rare in a tech IPO for more shares to come from investors than the company. Facebook was one of the few notable exceptions. In the social network's massive 2012 IPO, which raised a then-record $16 billion, 57% of the shares were sold by existing stakeholders. Circle is even higher at 60%. Circle, the company behind the popular USDC stablecoin, didn't provide a reason for its decision, and a spokesperson declined to comment. The company is profitable, having generated $64.8 million in net income in the latest quarter. It had almo ... Read full article.