Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Circle, confirmed that the stablecoin issuer remains committed to launching an initial public offering (IPO). Interestingly, these comments came amid a controversial report about Tether, Circle’s biggest competitor.
Circle’s financial position is strong, and no additional money is needed, says Circle Boss
in Interview with Bloomberg on FridayJeremy Allaire stated that Circle’s plans to go public are still in place and underway. Notably, in January, the stablecoin operator behind USDC filed a secret registration draft for its IPO with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The order occurred after Circle’s failed attempt to merge with Concord Acquisition Corp., a blank-check company, in 2022, a strategy that would speed up the process of going public with fewer regulatory hurdles than a traditional IPO.
In preparation for a potential IPO, Bloomberg reports that Circle is expanding its workforce, especially in anticipation of the US government installing a regulatory framework for stablecoins. In particular, Allaire expressed his strong belief that US lawmakers may pass some bills related to stablecoins after the general elections in November before the new elected officials are sworn in in January.
Furthermore, The Circle’s CEO assured the public of the company’s sufficient financial resources saying that there will be no need to raise funds from private markets such as venture capital or private equity before the IPO.
Allair said:
We are in a strong financial position and have built a very strong business, and are not currently seeking any financing
As mentioned earlier, Circle acts as an issuer of USDC, a popular stablecoin with a market cap of $34.69 billion. Thanks to these market shares, USDC ranks as the second largest stablecoin after Tether USDT, which has a market capitalization of $120 billion.
Rope in trouble?
Amid reports of Circle being bullish on an IPO, the media company The Wall Street Journal reported that Tether is currently under investigation by US authorities for anti-money laundering violations. The US Attorney’s Office in Manhattan is currently evaluating the potential use of USDT by bad actors in drug trafficking, terrorism, and other illegal activities, the Wall Street Journal reported.
However, Tether criticized this report which it claimed contained “reckless claims” without confirmation from the authorities. In particular, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino It was mentioned There is no indication that the stablecoin operator is under any investigation while also expressing its commitment to preventing illicit use of the USDT token.
Following the previous Wall Street Journal report, the overall cryptocurrency market showed a negative reaction, with Bitcoin falling more than 3% to trade at around $66,000, demonstrating the importance of USDT in the digital asset space.
Regarding the IPO, Arduino It was mentioned Tether has no interest in taking this route because it believes that inviting public investors could slow down the company’s development and “disrupt the status quo.” Additionally, Tether’s CEO stated that there is no need to raise capital in the foreseeable future as the company currently boasts over a billion cash assets on its balance sheet.
Featured image by Deniz Tutku, chart from Tradingview