Circle Internet Financial, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, has reportedly hired investment banks JPMorgan Chase and Citi as the underwriters of a hoped-for IPO, Fortune reported. While timing is not yet totally decided, sources say Circle will publicly file its prospectus in late April, meaning a potential IPO perhaps prior to June. The company had previously filed confidential paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in January 2024. Circle in 2021 had attempted to go public via a SPAC merger in 2021, but that attempt was derailed first by an intransigent SEC and then by the crypto collapse of 2022. It ultimately pulled the SPAC deal by the end 2022. According to people familiar with the matter that spoke with Fortune, Circle is seeking a $4 billion to $5 billion valuation. CoinDesk reported in July that the company was valued at roughly $5 billion in private secondary markets.
