SBI Invests $50 Million in Circle in NYSE Debut

• Circle raises $1,1 billion in NYSE IPO
• SBI expands its stablecoin market bet with USDC
• CRCL shares rise almost 300% after public listing

The Japanese financial group SBI Group revealed has allocated $50 million to the USDC stablecoin issuer Circle during its initial public offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange on June 4. The amount was split equally between SBI Holdings and subsidiary bank SBI Shinsei Bank, according to a statement released on Monday.

According to the newspaper Nikkei, the investment represents the acquisition of 5% of the 34 million shares made available by Circle during the IPO, which raised approximately $1,1 billion in capital. The move marks another strategic step by SBI in strengthening its presence in the cryptocurrency sector.

JUST IN🔥: SBI commits $50M to Circle's $CRCL IPO, securing a significant stake in the $ USDC issuer. This move highlights growing institutional interest in regulated stablecoins and blockchain-native finance, with SBI's push for USDC adoption in Japan leading the charge. #SBI ... pic.twitter.com/yzdpPwvaoY

— FinanceFeeds (@FXFinanceFeeds) June 10, 2025

In March of this year, Circle had already formalized a partnership with the Japanese group, which included the creation of the Circle SBI KK Japan joint venture. In addition, regulated access to USDC was authorized through the licensed exchange SBI VC Trade, after the registration criteria for stablecoins in Japan were relaxed. The initiative aims to promote the adoption of the stablecoin in the corporate and retail environments in the country.

During the IPO, Circle also attracted the attention of Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest, which acquired 4,48 million shares worth $373,4 million. With the ticker CRCL, the company’s shares closed Monday at $115, representing a nearly 300% increase from their initial price of $31 per share. In premarket trading on Tuesday, they were trading at $118, giving it a market valuation of around $22 billion, according to Yahoo Finance data.

Given the impressive performance of Circle's shares, managers such as ProShares and Bitwise have already filed requests to create ETFs based on CRCL, reflecting institutional interest in the company's role in the stablecoin sector.

Circle is currently the only major stablecoin issuer with publicly traded shares in the United States. Its main competitor, Tether (USDT), continues to operate outside the country, maintaining a market cap of over $156 billion, while USDC hovers around $60 billion.