Cryptocurrency company Circle has announced that it has terminated its previous agreement with Concord Acquisition Corp., a blank-check company that sells to the public-a SPAC. At the same time, it reached a new deal with Concord Acquisition Corp. for a new incorporation. If the transaction goes ahead, Circle will become a public company worth $ 9 billion.
Originally announced in July 2021, the merger is supposed to close in Q4 2021. And Circle doesn’t seem satisfied with its original deal that cost Circle $ 4.5 billion. The company no longer waited for the April 3, 2022 expiration date to scrap it and sign a new deal.
Circle is better known as one of the founding members of the Center consortium along with Coinbase. This consortium manages USD Coin (USDC), a popular stablecoin. At any given time, a USDC is always worth one USD.
It is exclusively supported by cash, cash equivalents and short -term US Treasuries. Those reserves are regularly reviewed by audit firms. This way, you are not exposed to crypto volatility but you can send and receive money from one wallet to another using the code-it works just like any regular cryptocurrency transaction.
Behind the scenes, USDC is available on a variety of blockchains. Each blockchain offers different advantages and disadvantages depending on what you are looking for when it comes to fees, speed and convenience. USDC is currently available on Ethereum, Algorand, Solana, Stellar, Tron, Hedera, Avalanche and Flow.
And the use of USDC is growing rapidly. In July 2021, Circle said there was $ 25 billion worth of USDC in circulation. That number has more than doubled since USDC’s circulation reached $ 52.5 billion.
In addition to the revenues associated with the reserve, Circle provides several APIs and products that provide yield. For example, the company helps you process payments and trigger payouts using simple API calls. It is compatible with many classic payment methods, such as card payments, bank wire and ACH.
Developers can take advantage of those services to create on- and off-ramp for their crypto products. And “treasury transactions and services”, as Circle calls its API services, get the most out of Circle’s revenue. Some companies that use Circle’s transaction and treasury services include Dapper Labs, Compound Labs and FTX.
Recently, Circle began offering Circle Yield. Companies using Circle Yield can generate fixed interest through short -term investments ranging from one to 12 months. It should also be noted that Circle owns SeedInvest, an equity crowdfunding platform.
Let’s see if the Circle will finally be public on this new deal. As Alex Wilhelm of TechCrunch wrote last year, Circle still thinks it has a lot of growth potential in the future. Instead of betting on historical earnings, the company wants investors to bet on future opportunities.