By Elizabeth Howcroft and Hannah Lang
LONDON/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Circle Internet Financial, the company behind stablecoin USDC, said on Thursday that it had confidentially filed for a U.S. initial public offering as part of plans to become a publicly-traded company.
Circle did not disclose the number of shares it plans to sell or the proposed price range for its new IPO filing.
Based in Boston, Circle controls the issuance and governance of USDC, a cryptocurrency pegged to the U.S. dollar.
The IPO is expected to take place after the Securities and Exchange Commission completes its review process, subject to market and other conditions, the company said.
The company had previously said it was valued at $9 billion, in a 2022 deal to go public via a special-purpose acquisition company. It ended that deal in December 2022. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said at the time that he was disappointed that the proposed transaction "timed out," but that the company still intended to go public.
USDC is the second-biggest stablecoin, after Tether, and the seventh-biggest cryptocurrency overall, according to crypto market tracker CoinGecko. The tokens are backed by cash and cash equivalents, including short-term Treasury bonds.
There are around $25 billion worth of USDC tokens in circulation, down from a peak above $56 billion in mid-2022, according to CoinGecko.
After a period of rapid growth, the crypto industry slumped in 2022 and token prices dropped as investors grew more cautious and various high-profile crypto firms collapsed, including crypto exchange FTX.
Circle announced layoffs in July 2023 and said it had ended investments in non-core business areas.
Circle's move to become a publicly-traded company comes after a prolonged slump in dealmaking amid high interest rates and market volatility. Clearing firm Apex Fintech confidentially filed for a U.S. IPO in December. Apollo-owned Aspen Insurance has also said it is considering a public offering in 2024.