$Circle Internet Corp.(CRCL)$ is going public on June 4th. It’s not flashy like a new AI startup or a meme-fueled EV stock. No dramatic founder stories, no viral marketing. Just a company doing the work, powering a $60 billion stablecoin that moves silently beneath much of the crypto economy.
Let’s be clear: this is not a bet on crypto hype—it’s a bet on infrastructure.
Circle operates USDC, the second-largest stablecoin behind Tether. Think of it like digital cash, backed 1:1 by dollars. As of March 2025, USDC has $60 billion in circulation and is natively issued on 19 blockchains. It’s integrated into hundreds of DeFi protocols, wallets, and trading platforms, including Coinbase.
Now Circle is raising $100 million via IPO to fund product development, expand globally, and maybe make some acquisitions. On the surface, it’s a classic tech growth story. But dig a bit deeper, and you’ll find a few nuances worth unpacking before you jump in.
The Numbers: Steady, Not Sexy
In 2024, Circle generated $1.68 billion in revenue, up 15.6% YoY. Not bad. But gross profit actually declined 8.8%, and gross margin fell to 39.3% from nearly 50%. That’s a red flag for some, but here’s the twist: Circle doesn’t make most of its money from fees—it earns yield from short-term U.S. government securities backing USDC.
That‘s mean, Circle is unusually sensitive to interest rates. As long as yields are high, it prints money. But if the Fed cuts, revenue could drop—fast.
That said, Circle still managed to post $344 million in operating cash flow and $287 million in free cash flow last year. That’s real money, not just paper gains. Plus, its marketing efficiency multiple hit 13.0x—a number most SaaS CMOs would kill for.
Valuation: TBD, But Probably Reasonable
Circle hasn’t revealed its IPO pricing yet, so we’re flying a bit blind. But if they land anywhere near a $5–7 billion valuation, you’re looking at ~15–20x free cash flow—a multiple that’s high for traditional finance, but reasonable for a dominant infrastructure player in a fast-growing, high-margin sector.
This isn’t a “growth at all costs” story. It’s more of a “quiet compounder with leverage to the future of finance” story.
So, Should You Buy?
For the long-term investor, this could be a sneaky-compelling entry point into stablecoin infrastructure—a sector that isn’t going away anytime soon. Yes, the regulatory overhang is real, and USDC’s dependence on U.S. interest rates adds macro risk. But Circle has the trust, the distribution, and the product-market fit that most crypto startups can only dream of.
For short-term traders, this may not be your jam. There’s no meme angle, no “next NVIDIA” narrative. But if the IPO prices conservatively, you might see rotation from institutional investors seeking cash-generative exposure to digital assets. $Circle Internet Corp.(CRCL)$
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