Circle stock price soars, and 2025 will be a bumper year for crypto IPOs

Written by: Ashrith Rao

Compiler: Vernacular blockchainAfter

the cold skepticism of the "crypto winter", the crypto asset market is not only recovering, but a historic recovery is brewing.

From the beginning of 2024 to mid-2025, the crypto asset market has surprised even veteran financial experts with its phenomenal rise and resilience.

The new foundation is more solid.

are fewer scammers on crypto platforms, the technology is more sophisticated, crypto assets are backed by the President of the United States, and the size of investors and participants has increased significantly.

Heavily sought after by traditional wealth managers and ordinary retail investors, listing and trading activity in the crypto industry is booming.

Circle's frenzied IPO leads the way

Circle's blockbuster IPO marked a wave of public listings of crypto assets, and Wall Street failed to perceive its huge pre-IPO undervaluation.

Today, crypto giants and Wall Street bigwigs are poised to profit from the upcoming initial public offering (IPO) boom.

market's appetite for crypto stocks was on full display in the first week of listing on Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin. Its share price soared from an IPO pricing of $31 to $107.

On its first day of listing, Circle's stock price soared by more than 168%, far exceeding market expectations.

Circle's huge success could prompt more crypto companies to follow suit or accelerate their go-to-market plans.

This successful IPO underscores its wide-ranging impact on the crypto market, and Circle has crafted a compelling story in the current crypto-friendly atmosphere in the United States.

Circle's IPO has set a new benchmark for the industry, with increasing public acceptance of digital assets.

Upcoming IPOs

seen successful listings of well-known companies in several high-risk sectors, particularly crypto-assets and fintech, in recent weeks, showing a resurgence in capital market activity and strong demand.

The recent increase in cryptoasset IPOs marks a pivotal moment for the industry and indicates that cryptoasset companies are more confident in attracting mainstream investors.

This trend has also brought greater transparency, regulatory scrutiny, and capital inflows, potentially cementing crypto assets' position in traditional financial markets.

In the latest news, Peter Thiel-backed crypto exchange Bullish has filed IPO confidentiality documents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.

Bullish, a fork of blockchain software company Block.one, attempted to go public in 2021 through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).

But the plan failed in 2022 due to regulatory crackdown and stock market turmoil caused by a sharp rise in interest rates.

The Trump administration's policy is very different from that of the Biden administration, adopting a loose stance on crypto asset regulation, supporting industry policy goals, and the SEC has suspended several investigations.

According to the Financial Times, Bullish is hoping to take advantage of the current investor enthusiasm for digital assets.

Bullish's filing comes on the heels of Gemini's announcement. Gemini, a crypto exchange run by billionaire twins Taylor and Cameron Winklevoss, revealed last week that it had filed confidential documents for the US IPO.

Gemini is a crypto exchange that allows users to buy, trade, and store over 70 tokens, with no issue size or pricing range yet determined.

The Wen twins rose to fame by suing Facebook and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg for stealing their social media ideas.

According to them, a settlement was reached in 2008, receiving Facebook shares and cash compensation.

The price of Bitcoin has crossed the key milestone of $110,000 per coin, and the global cryptoasset industry is currently valued at around $3.22 trillion.

Institutional investors have poured billions of dollars into gaining exposure to the asset class, especially since the U.S. approved spot Bitcoin ETFs.

Coinbase's inclusion in the S&P 500 in May was a milestone event for the U.S. crypto asset industry.

As the industry evolves financially and legislatively, crypto companies are increasingly integrating into traditional markets.

While no formal filings have yet been filed, San Francisco exchange Kraken is rumored to be preparing for an IPO in early 2026. The company's most recent funding round was in 2019, raising $13.5 million and valuing it at $4 billion. The company is reportedly in talks with financial institutions to finalise debt financing to accelerate pre-IPO growth.

In February, it was reported that U.S. hosting company Bitgo was considering an IPO as early as this year, but has yet to file formal paperwork. In August 2023, Bitgo closed its latest funding round at a valuation of $1.75 billion.

It is foreseeable that more companies will soon announce their plans to go public after the enthusiastic reception of Circle, and these are just some of the many companies.

Given the outperformance of Bitcoin Treasury Business stocks and ETFs, investing in stocks of companies that support the infrastructure of the industry seems like a logical choice.

Crypto trading is surging

Trading activity in the crypto asset space is booming due to strong business growth, political backing, and regulatory support.

After experiencing strict regulatory restrictions, the U.S. cryptoasset industry is ushering in a golden age.

Many in the industry hope that President Trump's second term will end the government crackdown on crypto assets over the past few years.

For example, after Trump's election, the price of Bitcoin soared by nearly 50%, hitting an all-time high of over $111,000 last month.

Increased institutional adoption, public interest, and technological advancements are the top three factors driving the growth of the U.S. crypto trading market from $9.8 billion in 2024 to $29.8 billion in 2033.

Europe is also following in the footsteps of the United States.

The supportive legal framework is expected to play an important role in the expected growth of the European cryptoasset market, which is expected to increase from $6.9 billion in 2024 to $27.6 billion in 2033.

For example, in late 2024, the European Union enacted the Markets in Cryptoassets Act, which aims to "regulate the savage west of cryptoassets."

In 2024 and the first quarter of this year, transaction volumes in the technology and financial services sectors in the U.S. and Europe expanded significantly amid fierce competition to drive digital transformation and deliver innovative services to customers.

Companies in the financial sector saw significant growth in overall transaction value compared to the previous year as they pursued advanced digital technologies.

In 2024, there has been a significant increase in crypto trading in the United States and Europe, driven by favorable market conditions.

Last year, 93 agreements were announced, with a total value of $4.1 billion. According to Mergermarket data, the value increased by 2.5x compared to the previous year, and the trading volume increased by 19%.

A closer look shows that the U.S. has played a key role in the significant growth in total value in 2024.

total value of the 45 announced crypto transactions is just over $3.2 billion, almost five times what it will be in 2023. During this period, 48 transactions were recorded in EMEA, an increase of 8 from the previous year. However, the total value decreased slightly, by 5% from the previous year to $918 million.

Amid the challenges facing the broader M&A market, Q1 2025 was strong. A total of 23 transactions worth $655 million were completed in the U.S. and Europe.

In the March quarter, Europe led the way, closing 12 deals worth $348 million, up 9% and 21% year-over-year. U.S. transactions slowed, closing 11 deals worth $307 million, down 26% and 66% year-over-year.

The decline in U.S. value has been attributed to several major deals in 2024, most notably the acquisition of stablecoin infrastructure provider Bridge Ventures by U.S.-Ireland fintech giant Stripe. The deal, valued at $1 billion, is the largest acquisition in the crypto industry to date.

Stripe aims to improve its stablecoin service, which has proven to be a viable way to conduct international transactions via blockchain. With lower fees and instant settlement capabilities, stablecoins offer a safe and secure alternative to traditional payments.

SummaryDriven

by transatlantic government initiatives, the convergence of fintech and crypto assets will be an important trend to watch in 2025.

Financial institutions and payment companies are working to improve the efficiency of their digital products, while emerging crypto companies will scale up in a competitive market through mergers and acquisitions.

These dynamics will quickly reshape the market, and M&A will play a key role in achieving this.