Circle was founded in 2013, and its most well-known business is the joint issuance and management of USDC with Coinbase—the second-largest dollar stablecoin by market capitalization globally. Circle's main source of revenue comes from managing the reserves backing USDC, which includes depositing dollar reserves into short-term U.S. Treasury bonds and bank deposit accounts to earn interest income. In 2024, Circle's total revenue reached $1.7 billion, with a net profit of nearly $64.79 million, demonstrating stable profitability and good cash flow.
In addition to its stablecoin business, Circle is also committed to building "digital financial infrastructure," launching blockchain services for enterprises such as Circle Mint and Circle APIs.
In 2021, Circle planned to go public via a SPAC but ultimately terminated the related transaction in 2022. Until June of this year, the company finally went public on the New York Stock Exchange through a traditional IPO, becoming the first stablecoin issuance platform to be listed after Coinbase.
On its first day of trading, Circle's stock opened at $69, more than 120% above the issue price of $31, and the closing price soared to $83.23, an increase of 168%. In the following weeks, Circle's stock continued to "skyrocket," reaching as high as $263, nearly a 500% increase from the issue price of $31. However, as some investors chose to take profits, Circle also retraced some of its gains. As of August 7, Circle's stock hovered around $162, up 422% from the issue price.
The excitement surrounding Circle's IPO undoubtedly served as a catalyst for more crypto companies to reassess their paths to the public market.
In early June, Gemini secretly submitted IPO documents to the SEC, planning to complete its listing within the year. Following closely, Bullish publicly filed its prospectus in early August, aiming to raise approximately $629 million, with a target valuation of up to $4.2 billion. In addition to these two leading platforms, Kraken has also been frequently mentioned by foreign media as a potential IPO candidate and is currently assessing market timing.
Gemini
The founding team of Gemini consists of the Winklevoss twins, and the platform is known for its compliance, having a strong regulatory foundation in both the U.S. and Europe. Recently, Gemini released the "2025 Global Crypto Landscape Report," showing that global awareness and adoption of cryptocurrency continue to rise.
In terms of challenges, Gemini faced lawsuits due to its Earn program in collaboration with Genesis, along with allegations of misleading users, resulting in over $1.1 billion in refunds and fines; additionally, customer support feedback still has room for improvement, with some users pointing out slow response times.
Bullish
This platform, supported by PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, recently submitted confidential IPO documents to the SEC, aiming to raise up to $629 million, with a valuation potentially reaching around $4.2 billion. Bullish also owns the crypto media platform CoinDesk, providing an advantage for ecosystem expansion. In the first quarter, trading volume grew by 78% year-on-year, with institutional investors like BlackRock and ARK committing to purchase approximately $200 million in shares. In terms of challenges, Bullish's financial report showed a net loss of $348.6 million as of March, compared to a profit in the same period the previous year. Additionally, its previous attempt to go public via SPAC in 2021 failed, indicating that regulatory benefits are not without risks.
Kraken
Kraken's revenue in the first quarter of this year was $472 million, a 19% year-on-year increase, with strong EBITDA. Revenue in the second quarter grew by 18% to $411.6 million, but adjusted earnings fell by about 7% to $79.7 million.
In terms of challenges, Kraken has previously faced lawsuits from the SEC for unregistered staking operations and has had disputes with the CFTC and other regulatory bodies. Although the SEC has withdrawn some lawsuits as of early 2025, indicating an improvement in the regulatory environment, compliance trends still need to be continuously monitored.
Currently, the U.S. regulatory framework is becoming more open, paving the way for crypto exchanges to go public. The CFTC has proposed allowing registered futures exchanges to conduct spot crypto trading and has invited various parties to participate in formulating relevant rules, which may integrate digital asset trading into a more traditional, regulated trading system. Meanwhile, the SEC is promoting a policy initiative called "Project Crypto," aimed at clarifying the regulatory classifications of digital assets such as securities, commodities, and stablecoins, and simplifying the capital raising process. The White House has also presented a comprehensive 160-page policy recommendation report on digital assets, emphasizing measures to integrate market operation structures and promote the fusion of securities and exchange forms. More importantly, with the push of legislation such as the "GENIUS Act" and the "CLARITY Act," the regulatory framework is gradually becoming clearer, boosting confidence among startups and investors.
However, a more relaxed regulatory environment does not equate to a complete loosening, and the path to going public is still fraught with challenges.
First, the division of regulatory responsibilities is still unclear, with ongoing disagreements between the CFTC and SEC regarding the classification of digital assets and enforcement boundaries, making it difficult for companies to accurately determine which business activities fall within compliance. Additionally, several states still maintain independent crypto compliance frameworks, creating a "federal and state" dual-track system, putting pressure on companies with high compliance costs and complex processes.
At the same time, market-level uncertainties are also increasing the risks of going public. The secondary market is highly volatile, with significant fluctuations in crypto asset prices, making investor sentiment sensitive and valuation ranges wide. Some unprofitable trading platforms still face ongoing pressure for financial disclosures and performance growth after their IPOs.
From Circle's impressive debut to the subsequent follow-ups by Gemini, Bullish, and Kraken, the trend of crypto exchanges going public in the U.S. is heating up. The U.S. policy environment is becoming clearer and more lenient, and the capital market's interest in compliant platforms is rising, creating a rare window for this wave of IPOs. However, the regulatory tug-of-war continues, and market volatility persists, making the road to the New York Stock Exchange hot but still requiring exchanges to proceed cautiously.
Related: Short-term holders of Bitcoin (BTC) are taking profits, causing a "cooling" effect, with prices stabilizing around $115,000.
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