Circle Soars 167% In Explosive NYSE Debut

The crypto industry just witnessed a major milestone. After months of preparation and delays, Circle finally went public — and its stock skyrocketed on day one. Despite economic uncertainties, the company saw overwhelming investor demand.

CRCL Shares Surge On First Trading Day

Listed under the CRCL ticker on the New York Stock Exchange, Circle’s stock opened at $31 and soared to close at $82 — marking a 167% gain by end of day. At one point during trading, it was up 235%, a clear signal of strong appetite for stablecoin-related investments.

To meet the overwhelming interest, Circle increased its IPO offering to a total of $1.05 billion, with 34 million shares hitting the market.

BlackRock, ARK Drive Institutional Demand

Much of the demand was driven by the involvement of institutional giants. On May 28, BlackRock revealed interest in taking a 10% stake in the IPO. At the same time, Cathie Wood’s ARK Investment was reportedly looking to buy $150 million worth of shares.

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Circle is best known as the issuer of USDC, the dollar-backed stablecoin. Though the IPO was in preparation for months, the company had previously postponed plans due to macroeconomic concerns such as trade wars.

Backlash From Arca Sparks Controversy

Despite the fanfare, not everyone was satisfied. In a now-deleted post on X, Arca CIO Jeff Dorman criticized Circle for only allocating $135,000 worth of shares to Arca — despite the firm being an early supporter.

“I cannot believe our years of support led to this throwaway allocation,” Dorman wrote. “We left Wall Street to support crypto-native projects, and now you’ve come full Circle.”

His comments highlighted deeper tensions between crypto-native firms and traditional finance mindsets returning to dominate the space.

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