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Circle Goes Full Circle

Published

3 месяца ago

9 июня, 2025

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By sheer luck, I had an opening bell media hit with NYSE TV this last Thursday, the day Circle listed as CRCL. The NYSE studio is upstairs at gallery level. I’d first visited the NYSE on the same gallery balcony as a boy with my Dad. I remember getting the impression that IBM was a huge company that represented the future.

Circle staff and guests filed in at 9:15, a much larger delegation than most bell-ringings. Not only was the floor packed, but both galleries were full. As the applause started, precisely at 9:29:30, everything else stopped. This wasn’t the usual opening bell tea ceremony. NYSE President Lynn Martin stood beside an air-punching Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire, and the specialists, floor brokers, and other floor inhabitants joined in the cacophony. The energy took over the whole floor in a way that felt exceptional.

I asked, cheekily, to the NYSE TV folks which specialist booth would trade CRCL. No one had any idea what I was talking about. The producer decided to move our hit to the floor with a handheld microphone and change our subject from bitcoin to stablecoins on the fly. That was fine—plenty to say about stablecoins.

Standing within feet of Jeremy Allaire on the floor next to the bell balcony, doing our five-minute segment, it was pure electricity. It was the feeling when you finish a marathon and a beaming volunteer places a medal around your neck.

Accomplishment and validation. This was a moment enabled by a friendlier SEC and coincident with meaningful blockchain legislation, but it didn’t have the vibe of MSTR rapture or youthful DeFi exuberance. It felt mature and financial—adults celebrating.

A long time coming

USDC sprang to life in September 2018, just before a local peak in U.S. interest rates. In retrospect, it was a handy time to launch, when carry (yield from backing assets) was positive but yield expectations in crypto (whose practitioners mostly grew up in a zero interest rate world) remained low. When COVID hit, in 2020, ZIRP (Zero-Interest-Rate-Policy) returned suddenly, threatening the business model, but prompting crypto adoption and experimentalism.

When the Fed aggressively raised rates in 2022 to help metabolize $5 trillion in COVID fiscal stimulus, stablecoins faced the opposite combination of supportive and threatening forces: higher carry revenues, but traumatized markets.

Circle’s failed SPAC attempt spanned this transition. Announced in July 2021 when 3-month yields were 0.05%, the Concord Acquisition deal was renegotiated in February 2022 (as rates began their historic climb) and ultimately terminated in December 2022—right as rates hit 4.42%. The SEC never declared the S-4 registration statement effective. The transaction «timed out» waiting for regulatory approval, just as the underlying economics of Circle’s business were being boosted by soaring rates.

Like yields

Now, several years into a 4-5% rate environment, the model has adapted and appears to be working. USDC holders can receive «rewards» on Coinbase that are similar to risk-free yields. On-chain cash holdings and collateral can be enhanced with tokenized treasuries. The GENIUS Act on stablecoins appears in good shape for passage, opening up the market for greater stablecoin adoption and participation.

The U.S. government has a new potential multi-trillion dollar customer for U.S. treasuries, providing much-needed demand for U.S. debt, which has become a chess piece in global trade. Circle (and other stablecoin issuers) are enjoying a good carry scenario, although near-term profitability has significant interest rate risk, now under the watchful scrutiny of CRCL shareholders and analysts.

Business

Crypto Trading Firm Keyrock Buys Luxembourg’s Turing Capital in Asset Management Push

Published

23 часа ago

16 сентября, 2025

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Crypto trading firm Keyrock said it’s expanding into asset and wealth management by acquiring Turing Capital, a Luxembourg-registered alternative investment fund manager.

The deal, announced on Tuesday, marks the launch of Keyrock’s Asset and Wealth Management division, a new business unit dedicated to institutional clients and private investors.

Keyrock, founded in Brussels, Belgium and best known for its work in market making, options and OTC trading, said it will fold Turing Capital’s investment strategies and Luxembourg fund management structure into its wider platform. The division will be led by Turing Capital co-founder Jorge Schnura, who joins Keyrock’s executive committee as president of the unit.

The company said the expansion will allow it to provide services across the full lifecycle of digital assets, from liquidity provision to long-term investment strategies. «In the near future, all assets will live onchain,» Schnura said, noting that the merger positions the group to capture opportunities as traditional financial products migrate to blockchain rails.

Keyrock has also applied for regulatory approval under the EU’s crypto framework MiCA through a filing with Liechtenstein’s financial regulator. If approved, the firm plans to offer portfolio management and advisory services, aiming to compete directly with traditional asset managers as well as crypto-native players.

«Today’s launch sets the stage for our longer-term ambition: bringing asset management on-chain in a way that truly meets institutional standards,» Keyrock CSO Juan David Mendieta said in a statement.

Business

Crypto Trading Firm Keyrock Buys Luxembourg’s Turing Capital in Asset Management Push

Published

23 часа ago

16 сентября, 2025

admin

Crypto trading firm Keyrock said it’s expanding into asset and wealth management by acquiring Turing Capital, a Luxembourg-registered alternative investment fund manager.

The deal, announced on Tuesday, marks the launch of Keyrock’s Asset and Wealth Management division, a new business unit dedicated to institutional clients and private investors.

Business

Gemini Shares Slide 6%, Extending Post-IPO Slump to 24%

Published

23 часа ago

16 сентября, 2025

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Gemini Space Station (GEMI), the crypto exchange founded by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, has seen its shares tumble by more than 20% since listing on the Nasdaq last Friday.

The stock is down around 6% on Tuesday, trading at $30.42, and has dropped nearly 24% over the past week. The sharp decline follows an initial surge after the company raised $425 million in its IPO, pricing shares at $28 and valuing the firm at $3.3 billion before trading began.

On its first day, GEMI spiked to $45.89 before closing at $32 — a 14% premium to its offer price. But since hitting that high, shares have plunged more than 34%, erasing most of the early enthusiasm from public market investors.

The broader crypto equity market has remained more stable. Coinbase (COIN), the largest U.S. crypto exchange, is flat over the past week. Robinhood (HOOD), which derives part of its revenue from crypto, is down 3%. Token issuer Circle (CRCL), on the other hand, is up 13% over the same period.

Part of the pressure on Gemini’s stock may stem from its financials. The company posted a $283 million net loss in the first half of 2025, following a $159 million loss in all of 2024. Despite raising fresh capital, the numbers suggest the business is still far from turning a profit.

Compass Point analyst Ed Engel noted that GEMI is currently trading at 26 times its annualized first-half revenue. That multiple — often used to gauge whether a stock is expensive — means investors are paying 26 dollars for every dollar the company is expected to generate in sales this year. For a loss-making company in a volatile sector, that’s a steep price, and could be fueling investor skepticism.