Circle, SPAC Call Off Plan to Take USDC Issuer Public

Stablecoin provider Circle is no longer set to list publicly, in a decision that has been approved by the directors of both Circle and Concord Acquisition Corp.

Circle had been eyeing an entry into the stock market via a merger with Concord Acquisition Corp, a New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) listed special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) backed by former Barclays CEO Bob Diamond. 

“The merger could not be consummated before the expiration of the transaction agreement as the SEC has yet to declare the S4 registration statement ‘effective,’” a Circle representative told Decrypt via email. 

A SPAC, otherwise known as a “blank check company,” is a company with no business operations formed to raise capital via an Initial Public Offering or merging with another firm.

The firm had been anticipating a 2022 date for the listing, with its chief financial officer Jeremy Fox-Geen telling Decrypt he expected the process to be completed at some point in the fourth quarter of this year in an interview in July of this year.

The agreement between the two companies would have valued Circle at $9 billion, an increase from the $4.5 billion which was originally announced in July 2021.

Circle is primarily known as the company behind stablecoin USDC, currently one of the largest cryptocurrencies and the second largest stablecoin by market capitalization exceeding $43 billion as per CoinGecko.

Circle continues to be a profitable firm, posting total revenue, inclusive of interest on its reserves of $274 million and net income of $43 million in the third quarter of 2022, according to its CEO Jeremy Allaire. The company also claims to have $400 million in unrestricted cash supplies.

Allaire said that the move to terminate the agreement was “disappointing” but that Circle is still set on becoming a public company. 

As for when, though, there are no clear answers. 

“We are not prepared to put a specific deadline on the decision, but we will be taking steps to continue our journey to go public as soon as practicable,” the spokesperson told Decrypt.