Circle IPO Found to Be Oversubscribed by 25x: Here’s What This Means and How It Could Affect Ripple’s Bid

Recent reports confirm that the Circle IPO is massively oversubscribed, a development that impacts any potential negotiations with Ripple. Circle, the USDC stablecoin issuer, has seen overwhelming investor demand for its upcoming IPO, with financial blog Zero Hedge reporting today that the offering is over 25 times oversubscribed.  For the uninitiated, this oversubscription means investor demand for Circle's shares exceeds the number of shares available in the IPO by a large margin. The development is massive for the crypto payments company and could have implications for Ripple, which has reportedly been pursuing a multibillion-dollar acquisition of Circle in recent months. Circle's IPO Momentum On May 27, 2025, Circle began its IPO with plans to raise as much as $624 million by selling 24 million Class A shares, priced between $24 and $26 each. This gives the company a fully diluted valuation ranging from $5.65 billion to $6.71 billion. By June 2, rising investor interest led Circle to increase its offering to 32 million shares, boosting its projected valuation to around $7.2 billion, likely due to early indications of the oversubscription. The company plans to go public on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "CRCL," with the IPO set to launch on June 5, 2025. Now, the oversubscription, 25 times the available shares, indicates investor enthusiasm. For instance, ARK Invest, led by Cathie Wood, plans to invest $150 million in Circle shares, and BlackRock is also expressing interest. Essentially, this demand suggests that Circle may be massively undervalued at its IPO pricing and could witness strong performance in the public markets. Regulatory Tailwinds The IPO comes at an important moment for the crypto industry. Recently, the U.S. Senate voted to advance the GENIUS Act to regulate stablecoins. In addition, President Donald Trump has expressed support for signing stablecoin regulation into law by August, before Congress enters recess.  This favorable regulatory outlook has provided additional tailwinds for Circle, which currently manages $62 billion in USDC circulation, accounting for 27% of the stablecoin market. Moreover, Circle's financials for 2024 show $1.68 billion in revenue, although net income declined to $155.7 million, down from $267.5 million the previous year. Ripple's Bid Under Pressure Meanwhile, Ripple has been trying to acquire Circle in what has been reported as a bidding war with Coinbase. Notably, Ripple's initial offer of $5 billion was rejected, with subsequent reports indicating that Ripple raised its bid to between $9 billion and $11 billion.  Though Ripple's CEO recently denied offering $10 billion, he did not fully dismiss the possibility that acquisition talks had occurred. However, Circle has now publicly dismissed rumors of acquisition talks with either Ripple or Coinbase. With the IPO now confirmed to be massively oversubscribed and the company increasing its valuation target, Circle has gained important leverage.  The market response gives Circle a strong reason to continue independently rather than accept any takeover bid. For Ripple, this means any chance of acquiring Circle would now require a much higher premium if it's still possible at all.