During the heyday of Circle, cryptocurrency assets were "rushing to be listed," and the cryptocurrency community couldn't understand the stock market

Source: XiaoYin Li, Wall Street News

The frenzy in the cryptocurrency market is unexpectedly sweeping through the global stock market.

According to media reports, following a staggering 8x surge in the stock price of stablecoin issuer Circle in the two weeks post IPO, several cryptocurrency exchanges including Kraken, Gemini, and Bullish are preparing for listings. One of the world's top three cryptocurrency exchanges, OKX, has explicitly stated its consideration of an IPO in the United States.

The shift in the U.S. policy environment has fueled this frenzy, with Trump's supportive stance towards the cryptocurrency industry and the anticipation of lax regulations significantly boosting market confidence.

Haider Rafique, Chief Marketing Officer of OKX, stated that there has been a "significant shift" in the U.S. attitude towards cryptocurrency since the previous administration: "We will absolutely consider a future IPO, and if we do go public, it will likely be in the U.S."

Rob Hadick, Partner at cryptocurrency venture capital firm Dragonfly, commented, "There's probably never been a better IPO window than now, and people are accelerating their timelines."

The Crypto Craze Shifts to the Stock Market, Valuation Premium Sparks Debate

Unlike the traditional cryptocurrency market, the current frenzy is more reflected in stock market performance.

Since its IPO at $31 on June 5th, Circle's stock price has surged to $240, reaching a market cap of $580 billion, making it one of the companies with the largest first-day gain in multi-billion-dollar IPOs in recent years.

MicroStrategy (now Strategy) has become a market darling by holding Bitcoin. According to cryptocurrency advisory firm Architect Partners, since Strategy's initial Bitcoin purchase in 2020, publicly traded companies globally have announced raising at least $720 billion to purchase crypto assets, with a majority of the transactions occurring in 2025.

Jeff Dorman, Chief Investment Officer of cryptocurrency fund management company Arca, pointed out:

"The interest from investors not currently invested in cryptocurrency is much higher than the actual cryptocurrency users. The performance of cryptocurrency stocks or proxy stocks is better than that of cryptocurrency itself, and this situation has persisted for three to four months."

As of 18 months ago, the cryptocurrency industry had a small presence in the stock market. This situation changed in early 2024 after the approval of a Bitcoin spot ETF.

Crypto "Natives" vs. Stock Market Newcomers: Divergence Evident

Despite the stock market's enthusiasm for cryptocurrency-related companies, there is a significant divergence within the investor community.

Traditional crypto investors are skeptical of the current premium phenomenon, believing that the valuation of publicly traded companies holding crypto assets should not persistently exceed the assets' intrinsic value.

Dragonfly's Hadick stated: "When the premium vanishes, investors quickly sell off the stocks, and these phenomena are often short-lived."

Last week, SharpLink Gaming, which holds Ethereum, announced allowing private placement investors to sell shares, resulting in a 70% stock price plunge, demonstrating the high market volatility.

They also have differing views on stablecoins, as stablecoins have a 1:1 exchange rate with the US dollar.

Hadick mentioned that cryptocurrency investors believe Circle's stablecoin has limited utility, mainly for transactions. In contrast, stock market investors are more optimistic about the future of stablecoins, betting that they could become a primary payment tool in the financial system.

Hadick said: "The growth story we're talking about now is not a cryptocurrency story but a traditional payments story... This is a world that the vast majority of cryptocurrency enthusiasts simply do not understand."

Original Article Link