Crypto IPOs: A New Era
VeradiVeradict - Issue #327
Amber team ringing the Nasdaq Closing Bell on March 28, 2025, at the Nasdaq MarketSite in Times Square, New York City.
The cryptocurrency industry is stepping boldly into the spotlight of traditional finance, with a wave of initial public offerings (IPOs) signaling a maturing market. This week, Circle’s IPO filing on April 1, 2025, has captured headlines, following closely on the heels of Amber Premium’s historic Nasdaq listing on March 13, 2025. These milestones mark a pivotal shift—potentially leading to a golden era for crypto capital markets under a more favorable U.S. administration.
Our conviction in the crypto space stems from a deep-seated belief in the transformative power of early founders, pioneers, and visionaries. Witnessing milestones achieved by companies like Circle, where we've been investors since 2014 and Amber, for which we led the Series A, reaffirms our commitment.
Circle’s IPO: Stablecoin Goes Big
Circle’s IPO filing on April 1, 2025, marks Circle’s public step towards listing on the NYSE under the ticker “CRCL.” The process began with a confidential S-1 submission in January 2024, followed by the public filing, which is expected to lead to trading in late April or early May 2025, subject to SEC review and market conditions. The exact number of shares to be offered and the price range have not yet been disclosed. Currently, J.P. Morgan serves as the lead left active bookrunner, with Citigroup as the lead right active bookrunner. Other bookrunners include Barclays, Deutsche Bank Securities, and SG Americas Securities, LLC.
The success of Circle’s IPO could catalyze further adoption of stablecoins, particularly USDC, which has overtaken Tether in transaction volume in some metrics.
Market
The stablecoin market in April 2025 is experiencing a remarkable surge—as of April 2025, the total market capitalization of stablecoins has reached $235.315 billion, a substantial 75.4% increase from $134 billion in January 2024. This growth trajectory continued from a $200 billion market cap in December 2024, marking a ~18% rise in just a few months. Transaction volumes tell an equally compelling story: in 2024, stablecoins recorded $27.6 trillion in transfers, surpassing the combined volumes of Visa and Mastercard. By February 2025, this figure climbed to $35 trillion, which is approximately a large 27% jump.
About Circle
Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, Circle is a global financial technology firm that has positioned itself at the forefront of digital currency. The company is best known for issuing USD Coin (USDC), a stablecoin aimed to peg 1:1 to the U.S. dollar, which facilitates stable value transactions in the volatile cryptocurrency market. Circle’s mission is to make sending money as easy as sending an email.
Circle has now expanded to Circle Pay for peer-to-peer payments, Circle Trade for cryptocurrency trading, and Circle Invest for easy investment in digital assets.
From APAC to Nasdaq: Amber’s Rise in Crypto
On March 13, 2025, Amber Premium became the first Singapore based crypto company to list on Nasdaq. It was a pivotal day for Amber International, as they announced that Amber Premium, a subsidiary, would be going public on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “AMBR.” This step emphasizes Amber Premium’s focus on providing institutional and high-net-worth clients with regulated access to digital assets.
I was honored to be invited and joined the Amber team for the Nasdaq Closing Bell last Friday. It was a proud moment and surreal experience—witnessing the journey from Series A six years ago to this monumental milestone. The event highlighted Amber’s growth from a startup to a publicly traded entity with a billion-dollar market capitalization. The best part was seeing both the faces who founded the firm and those who power the incredible platform behind it.
Other notable news include Amber’s recognition as one of Hong Kong’s most influential crypto investment institutions and its accolade as “Best Investment Institution of the Year,” as well as one of Singapore’s top 20 fintech startups by Fintech News in 2024.
Congratulations to the entire Amber team under the leadership of chairman of the board Michael Wu and CEO Wayne Huo.
About Amber
Amber Group, founded in 2017 and headquartered in Singapore, is a global digital asset company specializing in crypto financial services. Amber offers a suite of solutions, including but not limited to digital wealth management, asset management, liquidity provision, trading infrastructure, and catering to institutional and high-net-worth investors. The company has reached impressive metrics, such as a cumulative trade volume of over $1 trillion, digital wealth created for users exceeding $500 million, and over 3,000 institutional clients.
Conclusion
This is only the beginning, and we believe there will be more IPOs, strategic M&As and new unicorns coming out of 2025. We see a lot more business, founders and capital coming back to the US. The recent IPO trends are not just financial successes; they represent the realization of disruptive ideas that will reshape finance, technology, and society. We are more than ready to support those who are eagerly and relentlessly building the future of finance—every step of the way.
- Paul Veradittakit
DIGESTS
Korea's Hacking Ops Than Just Lazarus Group: Paradigm
Paradigm researcher Samczsun has mapped North Korea's sophisticated cyber operations, highlighting multiple threat groups and attack vectors.
Trump's SEC Is Ending Crypto Lawsuits and Investigations—These Are the Biggest
Under President Trump, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is backing down from fights with crypto firms. Here's the growing list of former targets.
BUSINESS
Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana Prices Seesaw Ahead of Trump’s Tariff Deadline
The leading cryptocurrency fell as low as $81,500 on Monday.
Ethereum Reclaims No. 1 Spot as Leading DEX Chain for First Time Since September, Overtakes Solana
The shift in leadership occurred amidst a bearish market sentiment, particularly within the memecoin sector.
REGULATION
Kentucky Joins South Carolina, Vermont in Dismissing Coinbase Lawsuits
Kentucky has dismissed its Coinbase staking suit days after passing pro-crypto legislation, following in the footsteps of other states.
NEW PRODUCTS AND HOT DEALS
AI-Infused Blockchain Ambient to 'Replace Bitcoin,' Says Co-Founder
Ambient raised $7.2 million in seed funding from a16z, Delphi Digital and Amber Group.
IREN Calling Off Bitcoin Mining Expansion in Favor of AI Data Centers
The company expects to reach its previously planned 52 EH/s of bitcoin mining capacity in coming months.
THIS WEEK AT PANTERA
Pantera March Blockchain Letter
We break down our full-spectrum investing approach – how we aim to capture blockchain’s opportunity set by investing across its key verticals.
What’s the Future of Blockchain
Ryan Barney, General Partner at Pantera discusses the impact of stablecoins on global markets and What drives long-term user engagement in blockchain beyond just one-time interactions.
Tokenization: The Next Frontier of Finance
Nate Allman, CEO and Co-Founder of Ondo and Mike Cagney, CEO and Founder of Figure Markets and co-founder SoFi explore how tokenization and RWAs (“Real-World Assets”) may reshape finance and capital markets.
LETS MEET UP
New Orleans, April 28-29
Los Angeles, May 4-6
Toronto, Consensus, May 14
Montreal, May 15-16
ABOUT ME
Hi, I’m Paul Veradittakit, a Managing Partner at Pantera Capital, one of the oldest and largest institutional investors focused on investing in blockchain companies and cryptocurrencies. I’ve been in the industry since 2014, and the firm invests in equity, early-stage token projects, and liquid cryptocurrencies on exchanges. I focus on early-stage investments and share my thoughts on what’s going on in the industry in this weekly newsletter.
If you have any projects that need funding, feel free to DM me on twitter.