Circle was still planning an IPO, but negotiations with Ripple and Coinbase could lead to a sale

The first public collection is still planned by the issuer of USDC.CoinbaseInformal negotiations on sales.

According to four banks and private equity sources cited in Wealth, Circe seeks at least $5 billion in valuation, which is also the target amount of its IPO. Ripple attempted to acquire Circle on 30 April, but its bid of between $4 billion and $5 billion was considered too low and rejected.

If Ripple or Coinbase eventually acquired Circe, the details of the transaction would be different. Ripple will pay in cash and the encrypted currency XRP (XRP) it creates. Coinbase uses cash and equities.

Coinbase's relationship with Circle dates back to 2018, when they jointly launched Centre Consortium. The joint venture aims to set standards for a stable currency (including USDC) supported by statutory currency. Coinbase also reached an agreement with Circe to include USDC in its exchange.

Circe submitted an IPO application on 1 April, with the aim of completing the process by the end of the month. However, the company made a slight setback on 4 April, indicating that it might delay the IPO due to economic uncertainty.

IPO market conditions improved as tariffs decreased

In December 2024, Bitwise predicted that 2025 would be the year of an encrypted currency, IPO, and that forecast was beginning to show results. In addition to Circle, the encryption exchange Gemini andKraken.IPOs are also being considered in 2025 or early 2026, as US President Donald Trump has promoted a more United States-friendly regulatory environment for encrypted currencies.

These plans were put on hold after market turbulence caused by the extensive tariff imposed by the Trump Government. As tariffs have now been suspended or reduced, the market has rebounded.

On 12 May, Cointelegraph reported that bitcoin (BTC) was only 4.8 per cent below its historical maximum price of $109,800. The ETH, XRP and Solana (SOL) have also registered significant growth over the past month. According to Google Finance, the stock market also rebounded, with a 15.6 per cent increase in the Standard 500 index over the past month.

At least one company benefited from the completion of the IPO during the zeal of the market recovery: the Israeli trading company eToro. Its stock price rose by 29 per cent after IPO on 14 May.