The scaleup behind听stablecoin听USDC has agreed a $4.5 billion听SPAC听merger which will see it float on the New York Stock Exchange.听
Circle co-founder Jeremy Allaire will remain CEO of the company while former Barclays听Chief听Executive听Bob Diamond, Chairman of听Concord Acquisition Corp听鈥� specially created for the deal听鈥撎齛nd听CEO of Atlas Merchant Capital, will join听the board.听
The transaction, which will see听a听new Irish holding company听acquire both Concord and Circle,听is anticipated to close in听the fourth quarter of this year.听
Circle runs USD Coin,听whose price is听tied 1:1听to the US dollar.听The Centre听Consortium 鈥� founded by听a partnership between Circle and听crypto exchange听Coinbase听鈥撎齢olds听the dollar equivalent of every unit of the cryptocurrency in reserve, either cash or short-term US Treasury bonds.听听
Launched in 2018, its goal is to be accepted听widely for听digital transactions听without the fear of sharp increases and decreases in value, as is the case听with many digital currencies.听To date, it听has backed $785听billion in deals recorded on its听Ethereum-based听blockchain.听
In a similar way to fellow听stablecoin听Tether, USDC听also听serves as a place where crypto investors can shelter from the extreme volatility of other cryptocurrencies听by trading their holdings for USDC but not cashing out into fiat currencies such as the US dollar.听
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Circle will go public听through a business听combination with Concord Acquisition听Corp,听a听publicly-traded special purpose acquisition corporation with $276 million in trust.听
Upon completion of the transaction, existing Circle听shareholders will maintain approximately 86% ownership of the public entity.听
Investors听–听including Marshall Wace LLP, Fidelity听Management & Research Company LLC, Adage Capital Management LP, accounts advised by ARK听Investment Management LLC听and Third Point –听have committed $415m in PIPE financing听ahead of the deal,听which听when combined with cash in trust and Circle鈥檚 recently closed convertible note financing,听will听provide Circle with over $1.1b in gross proceeds.听
Unlike Bitcoin, there is no limit on the amount of USDC which can be created. It has grown to more than $25bn in circulation, a听3,400%听increase this year.听
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鈥淐ircle was founded with a mission to transform听the global economic system through the power of digital currencies and the open internet,鈥� said听Allaire.听听
鈥淲e鈥檝e made听huge strides towards realizing this vision, and through this strategic transaction and ultimate public debut,听we are taking an even bigger step forward, with the capital and relationships needed to build a听global-scale internet financial services company that can help businesses everywhere to connect into a听more open, inclusive and effective global economic system.听听
鈥淲e are thrilled to partner with Concord鈥檚听executive and investment team, drawing on their decades of operating experience growing financial听services businesses around the world.鈥�听
Diamond added:听鈥淐ircle is听the true pioneer of trusted digital currencies, an increasingly critical part of the global financial system.听听
鈥淭he听firm has earned its exceptionally strong reputation building highly innovative blockchain-enabled products听and services within the regulatory perimeter.听听
鈥淐ircle鈥檚 world-class leadership team, its track record of听delivery, and extraordinary ambition help position the firm as one of the most exciting companies in the听transformation of finance.鈥�听
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