Skip to content
- Circle paid nearly $100 million for tokenization firm Hashnote.
- The deal included cash and millions of common shares.
- The acquisition may reshape Circle’s role in digital asset markets.
Stablecoin issuer Circle quietly completed a major acquisition earlier this year. In January 2025, the company took over Hashnote, the issuer behind the U.S. Yield Coin (USYC). At the time, the deal made waves in the digital finance world, though its value remained a mystery.
Recent US Securities and Exchange Commission filings by Circle have shed light. The company revealed the deal as part of the IPO filing for its upcoming listing.The papers indicate Circle paid out $9.9 million in cash and issued about 2.9 million vested shares of common stock to complete the acquisition. In all, the firm valued the acquisition at an estimated $99.8 million.
The deal further solidifies Circle’s market-leading position in the space of tokenized finance. Hashnote’s technology is focused on the tokenization of off-chain assets, including by such products as USYC. With the acquisition of the technology, Circle further extends access to yield-generating tokenized Treasury products.
Circle Sets IPO prices between $24 and $26
IPO plans for Circle add context to this acquisition. The company aims to raise around $600 million by listing 24 million shares. The shares will be offered at a price ranging from $24 to $26 per share. The IPO might impact the ultimate effect of the Hashnote deal.
Beyond the upfront payment, Circle will issue an additional 1.8 million common shares to select Hashnote employees. Those shares will vest over a period of time and are accounted for as an incentive. The share component of the deal speaks of long-term goals of integration and matching Hashnote’s team with Circle’s future.
The move comes against the background of rumors of mergers. Circle rejected rumors of interest in a possible acquisition from companies such as Coinbase and Ripple. The company is instead set to enhance its product portfolio as well as become more independent in the space for digital assets.
USDC Parent Circle Expands into Tokenized Assets
Since taking over, USYC has seen a loss of market share. Recent figures from RWA.xyz show that tokenized Treasury assets have gravitated towards competitors. BlackRock’s BUIDL fund is now the market leader with nearly $3 billion under management.
In spite of this trend, Circle might be playing a longer game. With the USDC already a leading stablecoin, integrating the tools of Hashnote could enable the firm to deliver more sophisticated tokenized products.
Diversification might be necessary as the need for blockchain-related financial instruments is increasingly growing. The low-key acquisition of Circle is now out in the open. The firm’s path towards its IPO will be watched with great interest as the market observes how these investments will impact its destiny.
Related Reading: Bitcoin Surges Past 110K as Bitcoin Pepe Presale Hits 11.3M
