JPMorgan waived the post-IPO lock-up, allowing the early dump after a 349% stock surge.
Executives and early investors at Circle are dumping shares just two months after the company went public, aiming to pull out $1.4 billion while the market is still high.
The stablecoin issuer, which started trading in early June, has seen its stock explode by 349%, and now insiders, including CEO Jeremy Allaire, are unloading fast.
The planned sale includes 10 million shares, with 2 million coming from Circle itself and the rest from shareholders like Allaire. This offering was announced on Tuesday, only a day before crypto exchange Bullish skyrocketed 84% in its own public debut.
The move is happening way earlier than expected (Circle’s insiders were supposed to be under lock-up until year-end), but JPMorgan, the lead underwriter and the one with the final say, gave the green light. According to Bloomberg, this all unfolded while investor demand for crypto IPOs was peaking.
JPMorgan allows early selling amid record gains
This new sale is moving quickly. It’s a two-day marketed offering and has already been oversubscribed, with pricing expected by Thursday. Circle hasn’t made any public comment, but the numbers speak for themselves.
Even though the stock is now trading at less than half of its $298.99 peak from June 23, it’s still way up from the IPO price. And this $1.4 billion figure is larger than what the company brought in during the IPO itself.
David Erickson, a finance professor at Columbia Business School and former co-head of equity capital markets at Barclays, called the move “a cash-in exercise,” pointing to the massive run-up since the IPO.
He said that even though the shares are being dumped, they’ll probably sell at a steep discount compared to pre-deal trading levels. But after a 400% gain, the discount hardly matters; everyone selling is still walking away with profits.
Sales like this, so soon after an IPO, used to be standard in the dot-com boom era. Erickson said he was surprised more 2025 IPOs hadn’t done the same this year, considering how many stocks have spiked.
Circle joins a wave of early post-IPO offerings
Circle may be moving fast, but they’re not alone. Just last month, Karman Holdings Inc. had its shareholders offload 21 million shares at over double the IPO price. That came six months after its February debut.
In 2024, other firms like Viking Holdings, UL Solutions, and StandardAero also jumped the gun, selling shares before lock-ups expired. But Circle’s speed beats them all.
Even with how fast this sell-off came, investors aren’t panicking. The stock has had two full months of heavy, high-volume trading, and the market seems used to the volatility.
Jeff Zell, senior analyst at IPO Boutique, said the company’s wild debut and steady performance gave the market time to price things properly. “After such an enthusiastic IPO debut and two months of steady, high-volume trading at elevated levels,” he said, “the market has had time to price the company rationally.”
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