- Circle said it was neither difficult market conditions nor shaky investors that prevented it from going public via a SPAC merger with former Barclays CEO Bob Diamond’s company Concord.
- The company said that the SEC didn’t approve its registration in time. Circle had waited 15 months for its registration with the SEC to become “effective.”
- Circle scrapped its plans to go public in December. The deal was worth $9 billion at the time.
Circle, the issuer of the second-largest stablecoin USDC, is blaming the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the failed plans to go public.
According to the Financial Times, Circle said that it was neither turbulent market conditions nor fearful investors that prevented it from going public.
“The business combination could not be consummated before the expiration of the transaction agreement because the SEC had not yet declared our S-4 registration ‘effective’,” Circle said. “We never expected the SEC registration process to be quick and easy. We’re a novel company in a novel industry.”
The S-4 registration is a document required to be approved by the SEC for the company to be able to issue new shares. In Circle’s case, the company waited 15 months for the SEC’s approval before the registration expired.
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Circle had plans to go public by merging with Concord, a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) run by former Barclays CEO Bob Diamond. The deal was worth around $9 billion before being abandoned last month amid fear in the market following the collapse of FTX.
Circle’s USDC is the second-largest stablecoin, with a market cap of $43 billion, according to data from CoinGecko.
On the Flipside
- Circle might try going public in the future.
- It’s not surprising that the SEC is taking its time with crypto companies wanting to go public given the recently exposed fraud in the industry.
Why You Should Care
Circle is one of the largest crypto-focused companies in the world. Its USDC plays a big role in the industry and is one of the most used stablecoins. If the company manages to go public, it would be subject to more regulatory scrutiny, presumably suitable for crypto investors and users.
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