Circle’s IPO targets $1 billion, inspiring other crypto firms like Plasma and Pump.fun to set their own ambitious fundraising goals.

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In April, Bloomberg reported that Ripple had made an acquisition offer for Circle valued between $4 billion and $5 billion, which was reportedly rejected as undervalued. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse later disputed the report in a conversation with Georgetown Law professor Chris Brummer.

Major investors signaled confidence in the offering. ARK Invest showed interest in purchasing up to $150m in shares, while BlackRock is expected to acquire roughly 10% of the IPO allocation. BlackRock also manages the Circle Reserve Fund, a government money market fund holding 90% of USDC’s reserves, valued at $53.3b as of this week.

Circle Internet Group Inc.’s initial public offering is likely to price above the marketed range, after fielding orders for more than 25 times the number of shares available in the upsized deal, according to people familiar with the matter.

The New York-based company's stock opened for trading at $69 apiece, valuing the stablecoin issuer at nearly more than $18 billion, on a fully-diluted basis. The stock rose as much as $103.75, versus

New York-based cryptocurrency exchange Gemini is preparing to go public, signaling renewed confidence in the digital asset market.

The crypto exchange has been taking major steps to go public in the U.S., including hiring Goldman Sachs and Citigroup as its financial advisors for the IPO. Gemini had also settled a $5 million lawsuit by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, while the SEC ended its investigation into the exchange earlier this year.

IPO could bring more success for the USDC issuer, including ushering in a strategy that lets the firm top Saylor's Strategy.

USDC issuer Circle has started trading on NSYE under the CRCL ticker at more than triple of its $31 IPO price.