IPO boom among Hong Kong and US stock crypto companies behind Circle's listing

Jessy, Golden Finance

On June 2, Eastern Time, stablecoin giant Circle submitted an updated S-1 document to the SEC, and its listing plan showed a major adjustment: the fundraising target increased significantly from US$100 million to US$175 million, but its valuation shrank from US$9 billion to US$7.9 billion, a shrinkage of about 11%. At the same time, the company plans to issue more additional shares.

The shrinking of valuation and the additional issuance of funds raised are not only because of the current capital and policy environment, but also because the reduction of valuation can increase the attractiveness of stocks, but also show the common craze of crypto-related primary and secondary markets in the traditional financial market.

Not only Circle has recently impacted IPO, but most of the stocks related to crypto-related stocks have experienced a rise, such as the crypto-related policy arbitrage standards for Hong Kong stocks, which have increased significantly. Similar to ZhongAn Online, it has risen by nearly 20% in the past three days, BC Technology Group, the parent company of the compliant exchange OSL, has risen by more than 40% in the past three days, and Coinbase, which holds Circle shares, has risen by nearly 10% in the past three days, and Circle's other major stock, Everbright Holdings, also rose by more than 20% in the past three days.

The full bloom of stocks related to US and Hong Kong stocks is closely related to the advancement of US and Hong Kong cryptocurrency policies.

Disassemble the Circle prospectus

Circle is currently firmly in the second place in stablecoins. According to Circle's latest IPO document (Revised version S-1 in June 2025), it can be seen that according to 2024 data, Circle's current revenue is divided into three parts. The first is USDC reserve interest, specifically US$32 billion in reserve investment in US bond repurchase agreement, with an annualized income of 4.5%, accounting for 86% of this part of revenue; the second part is transaction and custody service fees, specifically the exchange fee and custody fees between cryptocurrencies issued by institutional customers, accounting for 9%; the third part is the share of on-chain interaction gas fees paid by developers, accounting for 5%.

The key growth in revenue in 2024 comes from a significant increase in institutional customers, with the number of institutional customers increasing by 82% year-on-year, including Visa, BlackRock, etc.

This valuation reduction and additional fund issuance are not only a bow to reality, but also a reserve of more funds for future development. According to the latest IPO documents, the main purpose of fundraising is to apply for compliance licenses account for 35%, reserves account for 30%, cross-chain agreement development accounts for 20%, and other is used as mergers and acquisitions reserves.

According to the disclosure of IPO documents, risks also exist. Several more important policy risks are as follows. One is that if the United States determines that the issuance of stablecoins is a banking business, then Circle needs to be sold or closed within two years. The other is that if Hong Kong, Singapore and other places require local reserves, then global operating costs will surge.

Centralized release of stablecoin-related policies

The Circle's IPO and the surge in encryption concepts related to Hong Kong and US stocks are inseparable from the policies of the two places.

On May 19, 2025, the U.S. Senate passed a procedural vote on the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act (hereinafter referred to as the "U.S. GENIUS Act") with a vote of 66 votes in favor and 32 votes against. This milestone progress marks the United States' first federal regulatory framework for stablecoins.

Two days later, the Hong Kong Legislative Council passed the "Stablecoin Bill" on May 21, marking a major breakthrough in Hong Kong's stablecoin regulation. According to the Hong Kong government, the ordinance is expected to come into effect within this year.

On June 1, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the "Pay Stablecoin Payment Act", requiring stablecoin issuers to hold bank licenses or state- level currency transfer licenses, and reserve assets must be 100% cash + Treasury bonds.

In the GENIUS Act, algorithmic stablecoins are explicitly prohibited, which is actually issuing an exclusive license for physical asset stablecoins.

As the issuer of the stablecoin USDC, Circle has always adopted a reserve model that is similar to the 100% cash + Treasury bond required by the bill, and it can meet the new regulations without making major changes to its business model. The passage of the Payment Stablecoin Act actually elevates the "Circle Model" to an industry standard.

The passage of the above two bills is a major benefit to the development of Circle. In addition to the confirmation of compliance and orthodoxy, the above two bills have not yet cleared the obstacles of traditional financial institutions participating in the stablecoin market. USDC may become the preferred partner of cooperation for banks, securities companies and other institutions, thereby attracting more institutional funds to enter.

And its latest IPO documents also reveal this, with Circle's institutional clients significantly increasing in 2024.

Hong Kong's policies have also come one after another. With the dual overlap of US regulatory breaking and Hong Kong's institutional dividends, Hong Kong- related crypto policy concept stocks have also ushered in a considerable wave of rises. Although most of the related stocks rising on Hong Kong stocks are policy arbitrage targets, as the policies of the United States and Hong Kong gradually become clear and improving, more and more crypto-related companies are seeking IPOs, just like Circle.

Who else is actively IPOing besides Circle 's listing?

In Hong Kong, OSL Group will also be split from BC Technology and submitted an application in April 2025, planning to raise US$300-500 million. It is reported that Hashkey Exchange also secretly submitted its form in May 2025, with the target listing of Q4. Both of the above institutions have submitted applications for A1, and are currently under review by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

The intention of Hong Kong stocks' IPO is clarified, and market maker Amber Group, security company Certik, etc. are currently in the preparatory stage.

As the compliant exchange fired the first shot of crypto-related Hong Kong stock listing this year, more crypto-related companies are expected to submit intensive forms this year.

In terms of US stocks, it is more lively than Hong Kong stocks. According to SEC public documents and market intelligence, as of June 2025, in addition to Circle, the following companies are accelerating the IPO process:

First, the old exchange Kraken, which secretly submitted the F-1 document in May 2025, plans to go public directly on the New York Stock Exchange, and is expected to be listed in the first quarter of 2026. The old European exchange Bitstamp accelerated its listing through a merger with SPAC. The latest S-1 file submitted by Chainalysis to the SEC in May 2025. In terms of mining stocks, Core Scientific returned to the US stock market after bankruptcy and reorganization, and submitted a new S-1 with the code CORZ in March 2025.

The above crypto companies entering the capital market through IPOs or backdoor listings all indicate that the crypto industry is moving from the edge to the mainstream. They have made certain developments in business models, market size and industry specifications, and have the ability to compete with traditional industry companies to compete for capital market resources. This is even more inseparable from the gradual clarity of supervision, which has expanded the boundaries of the above-mentioned companies' development. With the listing, they will obtain more funds to develop their businesses, which is worthy of the common expectations of the industry.