How to Buy Circle Stock in 2024

Published May 28, 2024

Investor

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Circle is a prominent stablecoin issuer that will likely IPO soon.

Circle manages USDC, the world's second-largest stablecoin. USDC is designed to hold at or near a price of $1 USD. Stablecoin is often used as an intermediary currency between volatile crypto assets and more stable traditional assets.

USDC makes it easier for both individuals and companies to conduct cross-border payments, provides global access to USD, and reduces risk and adds transparency for the crypto markets.

In a word, it's more fluid than current solutions. For that reason, Circle has the potential to change the way money is used around the world.

However, despite filing its S-1, there's no guarantee if or exactly when Circle will go public. Fortunately, accredited investors can buy stock before that happens.

How to invest in Circle as an accredited investor

Even though Circle is a privately held company — meaning it doesn't trade on a public exchange and there is no stock symbol — accredited investors can buy shares on Hiive.

Hiive is an investment platform where shares of VC-backed startups are traded. Right now, there are more than 2,000 private companies on Hiive.

That includes Circle, for which there are 18 listings:

Here's how to invest in Circle stock:

Go to Hiive's website and click “Sign Up."

Enter your name and basic details.

Agree to the terms and click "Sign Up" at the bottom.

Answer a series of eligibility questions.

Wait for Hiive to get back to you regarding your account.

After you receive confirmation, go to the site, log in, and search for “Circle” stock.

Browse listings and purchase the stock. You can either accept that price and buy directly or make an offer and negotiate directly with the seller.

Learn more about Hiive in our full review or click the button to get started right away:

When will Circle IPO?

Circle has had a bumpy road to what now looks like an IPO offering sometime in 2024.

In February 2022, Circle was reportedly valued at $9 billion and planned to go public in July via a SPAC with blank-check company Concord Acquisition Corporation. The SPAC was first announced in July 2021 in a deal that valued Circle at just $4.5 billion.

The deal was eventually called off.

Following the scrapped SPAC, rumors surrounded the company about its plans to go public. Those rumors weren't satisfied until early 2024, when Circle filed for an IPO.

Circle is also redomiciling from Ireland to the U.S. The move isn't necessary for its IPO and is conspicuously unattractive given the much higher corporate tax burden here.

The exact reason for redomiciling is unclear, other than possibly making the company more attractive to U.S. regulators (the SEC).

Still, it's hard to imagine an IPO isn't imminent, especially if the crypto market stays hot.

When Circle does become a public company, you'll need a brokerage account to buy it. If you're in the market, check out our article on the best brokerage accounts in 2024.

Can retail investors buy Circle stock?

No, retail investors cannot buy Circle until its IPO.

Fortunately, this IPO seems to be coming soon. At this point, you'll likely just want to wait a few months for this to happen. You can check our IPO Calendar every few weeks to see the exact day it will go public.

If you're anxious to invest in cryptocurrency or Web3 companies, here are a few publicly traded companies you may be interested in:

Coinbase (COIN) is the second-largest crypto exchange in the world (Binance is #1) in terms of trading volume. In 2023, Coinbase generated $3.1 billion in revenue on a trading volume of $468 billion. In 2023, Coinbase also took an equity stake in Circle, though the amount invested was not publicly disclosed.
Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA) is a digital asset mining company that focuses on the bitcoin ecosystem. It generated $501 million of revenue in the last 12 months and is worth $5.4 billion.
CleanSpark (CLSK) is also a large-scale bitcoin miner. In the last 12 months, the company has generated $284 million in revenue, and it has a market capitalization of $3.7 billion.
Block (SQ) is a peer-to-peer payment provider and has been very public about its bullish stance on decentralized finance and digital payments. The company has TTM revenue of $22.9 billion and has a market cap of $44.2 billion.

You may also be interested in a few different crypto-themed ETFs, like the Schwab Crypto Thematic ETF (STCE), the Bitwise Crypto Industry Innovators ETF (BITQ), or the Fidelity Crypto Industry and Digital Payments ETF (FDIG).

None of these investments will be the same as getting direct exposure to Circle stock, but companies and assets in this space have been correlated in the past.

If you're very bullish on Circle, you may also be at least moderately bullish on one of these other investments.

Who founded Circle?

Circle was founded by Jeremy Allaire and Sean Neville in October 2013.

Allaire made a name for himself as a technologist after taking his former company, Allaire Corporation, public in 1999. The company was acquired by Macromedia in 2001, where Allaire served as CTO until he left to join VC firm General Catalyst in 2003.

From there, he founded Brightcove, an online video platform, which he successfully took public in 2012. In October 2013, Allaire announced the launch of Circle, where he still serves as CEO.

Sean Neville, who was previously Circle's President and CTO, serves on the board of directors.

He left his role at Circle to co-found Catena Labs, which improves financial and social interactions in commerce, gaming, and media. He serves as Catena Lab's CEO.