Circle Goes Public: A New Era for Stablecoins at the NYSE

The company behind USDC Circle Internet Group, going public today here at the New York Stock Exchange and listing under ticker symbol CRCL.

Now stablecoins are reshaping global finance, moving money faster than traditional banks.

Now last year, total stablecoin transfer volume topped $27 trillion in transactions more than Visa and Mastercard combined.

Joining me live at the New York Stock Exchange to talk about going public is Dante Desparte, chief strategy officer.

And head of global policy and operations at Circle.

Dante, thank you so much for joining me.

A big day for Circle today.

Well, it's great to be with you, Remy.

The lengths to which I had to go to be here live on the New York Stock Exchange floor with you.

Well, Dante, you and I, we spent many interviews talking about policy as well as the future of stablecoin.

So we're finally here at the New York Stock Exchange, the center of Trad y, and you are going public.

So what does this mean for the company?

Well, for us and Was it marks what was once a very long term commitment of the firm to become a public company here in the United States was part of a broader commitment as we've had operationally and at every level of our company, which is about trust, transparency and accountability.

And so obviously we're incredibly excited and enthusiastic about today's milestone, but in many respects it marks the end of the beginning for us in that you know the road ahead is really all about mass adoption of these types of innovations.

Obviously we're continuing to work very, very. vigorously on regulatory clarity here in the United States with upcoming legislation and to continue to promote an operating model in which all ships can rise powered in part by more accessible access to the US dollar and of course the infrastructure that makes it move.

And Dante, you are focused on policies.

So as someone who is looking at DC and what's coming down the pike when it comes to regulatory clarity, what can we expect in the next several months and what does this all mean for adoption?

Well, I think there's, there's the first piece of legislation that has the best prospects of getting passed into law is of course the Genius Act, which is enjoyed bipartisan support in the Senate.

Um, we've been strong proponents of the Genius Act.

We think it enshrines not only the circle way of doing business as law, but it also creates a level playing field for other companies in this market, including banks, nonbanks, and credit unions in the United States.

We also think the Genius Act allows us to contemplate an America first test for stablecoins denominated to the US dollar in which this innovation becomes an export product from the US around the world and carries with it the trust and safety in our broader financial system.

And on a day like today when the outside of the New York Stock Exchange, the facade has the banner of Circle and that clear bull outside of the exchange, there's been a lot of focus on Circle today, and that means there are viewers out there who are wondering, especially in the US, the use case for stablecoins.

You and I, we've talked about the use case for stablecoins outside of the country, but what does all of this?

Well, I think domestically in the United States as much as around the world, the way we move money tends to be a little bit slow, a little bit expensive, and frankly a little bit antiquated.

And so our money has failed to keep pace with the times.

I mean, your and my financial needs don't take bank holidays just to be very concrete.

And so I think it's a, it's a very useful innovation to contemplate digital money that can work for a little more than an open source mobile wallet all over the world.

So that's like step one is digital dollars like USDC are a store of value for millions of end users around the world.

We also think the Genius Act and other institutional adoption creates pathways in which these innovations will touch every facet of capital markets, of traditional finance, of cross border payments and institutional money movement as well.

And so all of those types of innovations we think are made possible not just by today's public listing, but Also by the growing regulatory clarity we have in the US and frankly all over the world, and all eyes are on Circle and the next steps for the company.

So what will you be doing with the proceeds?

Well, in so many ways we're a long term company, even getting to today after 12 years since the company was founded, today marks a milestone that was a long term objective of the firm.

In so many ways what you could expect of us today is exactly what you could expect. expect of us of tomorrow and the next decade, which is that we're always focused on up leveling the way money moves, creating a much more accessible financial system, and effectively staying really focused on our broader mission, which is to raise economic prosperity around the world through the frictionless exchange of value.

Today's milestone just really marks the beginning of that next chapter, but we will stay committed in the long term road ahead as we have been to get to this point.

And Dante, finally, before I let you go, when we look at the use of stablecoins, not just in the US but overseas, there are many applications.

So what do you envision for the future of Circle and in alignment with your mission?

Well, I think one of the things we're very excited about, of course, is to continue promoting and supporting cross-border payments innovations.

We've recently announced the Circle payment.

Network which is to help serve as an orchestration technology and coordination technology to facilitate cross border payments and cross border money movement.

So that's one major use case you could expect in the future.

That also of course is a byproduct of regulatory clarity across the Atlantic between Europe's markets and crypto assets framework, an emerging stablecoin and digital assets regime in the United Kingdom.

And then finally the expected passage of the Genius Act here in the United States will just level up the movement of dollars all over the world on this type of architecture that we built at Circle.

OK, Dante, well, great to have you here at the New York Stock Exchange.

Thank you so much for joining me, and I look forward to continuing this conversation later on this year.

Thank you, Remy.

Thank you.