Which Virtual Asset Company Will Follow Circle's IPO Surge?

Venture capital (VC) interest is heavily focused on initial public offerings (IPOs) of virtual asset (cryptocurrency) companies. With Circle, the issuer of USDC, going public in June and continuing its successful trajectory, it is expected that at least three more virtual asset-related firms will go public this year.

On the 14th (KST), The Block, a media outlet specializing in virtual assets, reported that interviews with VCs indicate more virtual asset companies are anticipated to go public this year.

VCs predict that at least three or more virtual asset companies will succeed in IPOs this year. Diogo Mónica, co-founder of Anchorage Digital, claimed that “we’ve entered the first phase of a multi-year cycle,” and said demand for virtual asset companies is surging. Richard Galvin, Chief Investment Officer of Digital Asset Capital Management, also anticipated that about 15 virtual asset firms could go public this quarter or next. Cosmo Jiang, an executive at Pantera, likewise stated that, given the current circumstances, three to five cryptocurrency companies could become listed this year.

It was explained that the IPO momentum among virtual asset firms is not simply due to a bull market, but rather underpinned by fundamentals. Mónica stated, “Stablecoins have crossed the chasm,” adding, “USDC’s payment volume has now risen to a level comparable to Visa, leading existing investors to view stablecoin platforms not as speculative assets but as fintech.” He further noted, “Currently, virtual asset companies are recording overall margins similar to software-as-a-service (SaaS) firms, generating over $100 million in annual revenue.”

VCs highlighted virtual asset exchanges, custody providers, companies offering infrastructure similar to SaaS, and stablecoin platforms as the enterprises most likely to succeed in an IPO in the current environment. Companies currently being mentioned as virtual asset IPO candidates include Kraken, Gemini, BitGo, Anchorage, OKX, Uphold, FalconX, Ledger, Chainalysis, Fireblocks, Alchemy, Consensys, MetaMask, Flashbots, Digital Currency Group, and Ripple.