Behind the Surge in Circle's Stock Price: Early Shareholders Miss Out on $1.9 Billion

Original Title: CRCL New High: Founder Missed Gains of 330 Million, Early Shareholders Miss Out on 1.9 Billion

Original author: Protos

Editor’s Note: Since its listing, Circle's stock price has continued to soar, with CRCL skyrocketing from an issue price of $29.30 to $300, making it one of the biggest winners at the intersection of Wall Street and the crypto world. However, in this equity feast of the stablecoin leader, the earliest executives and venture capitalists have ironically become the "losers" who missed out on the main upward trend. Many of them chose to reduce their holdings on the day of the IPO, missing out on potential gains worth billions of dollars in just two weeks. This not only reveals a serious misjudgment of market expectations but also reflects a cognitive gap between the primary and secondary markets in the new era of crypto finance. When even the founders failed to predict the true value of their own stock, we might need to rethink: in this era filled with narrative-driven and emotional leverage, who is the real smart money?

The following is the original content:

Executives and venture capitalists who chose to sell shares in Circle (stock code: CRCL) during the IPO missed out on a price surge comparable to a rocket launch.

As of June 6, 2025, the potential gains missed by these early sellers amount to as much as $1.9 billion. Rather than selling, it would be more accurate to say they "missed out" — their choice is truly painful.

These executives and venture capitalists cashed out at a price of $29.30 per share, totaling about $270 million. However, if they were willing to hold on for a few more weeks, the value of their shares would have soared to several billion dollars.

For example, the Chief Product and Technology Officer of Circle sold 300,000 shares of Class A common stock during the IPO at a price of $29.30 per share. If he had not sold these shares, their value would have reached $240.28 per share as of last Friday's close. This means he personally missed out on approximately $63 million in potential gains.

The CFO of Circle also sold 200,000 shares at the same price in the IPO, missing out on gains of approximately $42 million.

Even the founder Jeremy Allaire was not spared. He sold 1.58 million shares in the IPO, at the same price of $29.30 per share. If he had chosen to hold at that time, he would have an additional paper profit of up to $333 million today.

Circle VC missed gains of one billion dollars

In Circle's initial public offering (IPO), venture capital firms, executives, and other insiders collectively sold at least 9,226,727 shares of common stock at a price of $29.30 per share.

Although these stocks brought them a substantial cash-out profit of 270 million dollars, just two weeks later, the "opportunity cost" of this transaction was astonishing.

If they had chosen to continue holding these stocks at that time, they could have made an additional $1.9 billion today.

Objectively speaking, some venture capitalists only reduced part of their holdings during the IPO. For example, the well-known venture capital firm General Catalyst sold only about 10% of its CRCL shares. According to its latest Form 4 filing submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the firm still holds more than 20 million shares.

The situation of founder Jeremy Allaire is similar; he currently holds over 17 million shares and has options and restricted stock. Many other venture capital firms and company executives have also retained a considerable portion of their initial investments.

However, even so, the decision to sell at 29.30 dollars appears quite awkward in the context of CRCL's stock price soaring to 240.28 dollars today. Although no one can predict the future, a forecast deviation of up to 88% is undoubtedly a "colossal misjudgment" that has long since made its mark in financial history.