Coinspeaker
Stablecoin Issuer Circle to Relocate Legal Headquarters from Ireland to US
Stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Financial Ltd plans to move its legal base from the Republic of Ireland to the United States.
According to a Bloomberg report, the company filed on Tuesday to re-domicile, as confirmed by a company spokesperson. However, the person did not offer any reason for the decision.
Circle Moving Legal Operations to the US May Be Costly
Circle’s decision to move its legal operations to the US is interesting because it could translate to higher taxes for the company. Since Ireland has a 12.5% tax rate, the country is attractive to many companies that would rather set up there than in other European countries to keep their tax rates as low as possible. Consequently, leaving a supposed tax haven to the US seems like a noteworthy decision for the stablecoin issuer.
Circle’s move is also interesting because the company has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In January, a confidential draft S-1 document indicated its intention but did not specify a price range or how many shares Circle intends to sell to the general public. Depending on market factors, Circle will launch its IPO after the SEC concludes a review.
Interestingly, the January SEC filing is not Circle’s first attempt at an IPO. The company had tried a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger with Concord Acquisition Corp. Circle first announced in July 2021 and later amended terms in February 2022, doubling the earlier $4.5 billion valuation. However, the 2022 bear market and overall crypto winter likely contributed to Circle pulling out of the deal. At the time, CEO Jeremy Allaire said the “proposed transaction timed out,” suggesting that Circle did not complete the SEC’s requirements in time. However, the CEO specified at the time that “becoming a public company remains part of Circle’s core strategy to enhance trust and transparency, which has never been more important.”
USDC Metrics on the Rise
While Tether’s USDT stablecoin has clearly dominated the stablecoin market, USDC’s metrics are improving. According to Visa’s adjusted stablecoin metric in partnership with Allium Labs, USDC’s transaction volume hit $456 billion in the third week of April. At the time, Tether’s USDT had seen $89 billion since January. The tool also showed that the USDC stablecoin market share has increased significantly.
One reason for this increase may be the recent partnership between Circle and payment giant Stripe. Last year, Stripe handled more than $1 trillion in transactions. The collaboration between both giants is generally considered a threat to USDT.
Circle also has several other partnerships with Visa Inc, BlackRock Inc, and MoneyGram. Furthermore, the company is working on increasing digital dollar access in Brazil and Japan, by partnering with Nubank and SBI Holdings, respectively.
In February, CoinGecko data showed that USDC’s valuation had hit $28.5 billion, from $24.4 billion on December 1, 2023. This showed a 14.3% increase in three months. On the other hand, USDT hit $98 billion from $89 billion in the same period, an increase of 9%.
Stablecoin Issuer Circle to Relocate Legal Headquarters from Ireland to US
