Circle's stock price surge attracts investor follow, major shareholders' holdings situation comes to light

Since the stablecoin issuer Circle successfully went public, its stock price has continued to rise, attracting significant attention from global investors. Reportedly, the company's stock has even become the fourth most purchased overseas stock in South Korea this year. As the stock price increases, Circle's investors and major shareholders have reaped substantial returns, and their Holdings have also become a market focus.

This article outlines the reduction in holdings and the scale of holdings of 11 major shareholders of Circle before and after the IPO. In terms of shareholding ratio, IDG Capital has become one of the largest known non-founder shareholders of Circle through multiple rounds of early investment. Early investors such as Accel, General Catalyst, Breyer Capital, and Oak locked in some profits by reducing their holdings before the IPO, but they missed out on significant potential profits due to exiting early, with losses potentially reaching hundreds of millions of dollars. However, most investors still maintain a fairly substantial Holdings and will continue to benefit from the rise in stock prices. Notably, institutions like ARK Invest, which participated later, chose to make bold bets in the early stages of Circle's IPO and subsequently cashed out at high prices to achieve substantial returns.

IDG Capital: Cashing out over $68 million before going public, still one of the largest external shareholders.

IDG Capital is one of the earliest venture capital firms in China to engage in early-stage investments, having invested in several well-known technology companies. As an important early investor in Circle, IDG participated in the company's Series A, B, and C financing rounds, holding a significant amount of equity.

The prospectus shows that IDG holds a total of 23,275,040 shares through its affiliated entities Chuang Xi Capital Limited and Wide Palace Limited, with a shareholding ratio of 12.8%.

Chuang Xi Capital reduced its holdings by approximately 2.328 million shares at a price of $29.3 on June 6, cashing out approximately $68.29 million. If calculated at the current market price of $213.6, it missed out on nearly $430 million in potential profits. After the reduction, IDG-associated capital still holds approximately 20.947 million shares of Circle, with a holding ratio of 10.4%. Based on the current stock price, the remaining holdings are valued at over $4.473 billion, making it one of the largest external institutional investors in the company.

It is worth mentioning that Everbright Holdings co-founded the "Guangji Capital Industry Fund" with IDG Capital in 2016, and invested in Circle as part of its initial investment project of 10 billion yuan, which may be included in the investments of the aforementioned IDG affiliate.

General Catalyst: Holdings reached 10%, CRCL position is nearly 4.3 billion USD

General Catalyst is an investor in Circle's Series A and C rounds. According to documents disclosed by U.S. regulatory agencies, its shareholding once exceeded 10%. As a continuous investor in Circle from Series A to E, General Catalyst sold approximately 3.55 million shares at a price of $29.3 on June 6, cashing out about $104 million. Based on a stock price of $213.6, it missed out on approximately $650 million in paper profits. After the reduction, the firm still holds about 20.12 million shares of CRCL, valued at over $4.29 billion.

ARK Invest: Has reduced holdings and cashed out over $350 million, CRCL remains one of the core Holdings.

As of June 27, ARK Invest holds approximately $580 million worth of CRCL, with a total of about 2.818 million shares. Among them, the ARK Innovation ETF holds $368 million worth of CRCL, the ARK Next Generation Internet ETF holds $133 million, and the ARK Fintech Innovation ETF holds $78.85 million.

On the day of Circle's listing, ARK Invest purchased approximately 4.486 million shares of CRCL for the first time, with the holdings valued at around $373 million at that time. However, starting from June 16, the institution began to significantly reduce its holdings of CRCL shares, cumulatively selling about 1,667,000 shares for a cash amount of approximately $352 million. Despite the large-scale reduction, Circle remains one of the important holdings in ARK Invest's three main ETFs.

CEO Jeremy Allaire: Large-scale equity conversion before IPO, cashing out over $46 million

Jeremy Allaire is the Chairman and CEO of Circle. He executed large-scale stock conversions and trading operations before the company went public, with a stock ratio of 23.7% after the listing. According to disclosures, Allaire converted all of his 18.59 million Class A common shares into Class B common shares on June 6, with an automatic conversion ratio of 1:1. This type of stock enjoys the same economic benefits as Class A common shares but has greater control in voting rights. Additionally, Allaire converted over 330,000 Class A common shares into Class B shares through a personal trust he established, while continuing to hold them indirectly. On June 6, Allaire also sold over 15,800 Class B common shares after automatic conversion, at an average price of $29.3 per share, totaling approximately $46.4 million in cashing out. Furthermore, Allaire converted over 18 million Class A stock options into Class B options, with a total exercise period covering until 2033.

Despite Jeremy Allaire recently selling some shares and adjusting the equity structure, his control over Circle has not been materially affected due to the high voting power of Class B shares, a large options pool, and the family trust shareholding structure.

Accel: Holdings valued at over $230 million, with a shareholding ratio of 5.3%

Accel is one of the important shareholders participating in Circle's multiple rounds of financing, and its partner Jim Breyer is also an investment partner of IDG in the United States. According to publicly disclosed information, Accel originally held 12.816 million shares of CRCL, with a shareholding ratio of 6.9%. During Circle's IPO process this time, Accel reduced its number of shares to 10.925 million, with a shareholding ratio of 5.3%. Based on the most recent closing price, this is valued at over $230 million.

Breyer Capital: Reduced holdings by 335,000 shares, remaining Holdings value still exceeds $280 million

Breyer Capital participated in Circle's Series A to Series D financing. Although Breyer Capital chose to reduce its holdings by over 335,000 shares during Circle's IPO, the specific reduction price has not been disclosed. However, based on the current market price of $213.6, the market value of these shares has reached $71.6 million. Currently, Breyer Capital still holds 1.336 million shares, with a holding ratio of 6.5%, and the value of its holdings exceeds $285 million.

Oak Investment Partners: After reducing holdings, still holds 5.9%, with a position of $250 million

Oak Investment Partners began supporting Circle as early as 2014, participating in its Series B and C funding rounds. According to public data, before Circle went public, Oak reduced its holdings by approximately 209,000 shares of CRCL, which is valued at about $44 million at current market prices. Currently, Oak holds over 1.188 million shares, with a shareholding ratio of 5.9%, and the value of its holdings is approximately $250 million.

It is worth mentioning that at that time, Oak's trading head Iftikar Ahmed faced charges a year later for insider trading related to other mergers and embezzling company funds, which directly led to Oak's decision to stop raising new funds.

FMR: Keep shares unchanged, Holdings value exceeds 280 million USD

FMR is the parent company of Fidelity Investments and participated in Circle's $50 million Series C financing. It did not reduce its holdings during Circle's listing process, maintaining a shareholding of 1.341 million shares, with a voting power ratio of 4.6%. The current value of its Holdings exceeds $280 million.

CFO Jeremy Fox-Geen: Cashed out over $5.8 million, options holdings exceed 1.2 million contracts

Jeremy Fox-Geen is the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Circle. On June 5, he reduced his direct Holdings by approximately 44,600 shares of common stock through a non-trade transfer (Class F operation), and subsequently increased his holdings by purchasing 160,000 shares of common stock and corresponding stock options at a price of $10.11; on June 6, he sold another 200,000 shares at a sale price of approximately $29.3, with a total cash-out amount of about $5.854 million. If calculated at the current market price of $213.6, the potential book profit from this sale of shares exceeds $37 million.

Currently, Jeremy Fox-Geen directly holds approximately 320,000 shares of CRCL common stock, while possessing about 1.27 million stock options with an exercise price of $10.11, valid for up to 6 years.

Date Rajeev V.: Profit of approximately 1.46 million USD, indirect Holdings valued at nearly 200 million USD

Date Rajeev V. is the managing partner of the investment and consulting firm Fenway Summer LLC. According to documents disclosed by U.S. regulators, on June 6, 2025, he increased his indirect holdings of approximately 600,000 shares of CRCL common stock through a non-trade transfer (Class J operation), while personally selling 50,000 shares of common stock at a selling price of about $29.3, realizing approximately $1.465 million in cash. If calculated at the current market price of $213.6, the potential book gain from this portion of the sold shares exceeds $9.5 million.

Currently, Rajeev V indirectly holds approximately 900,000 shares of CRCL common stock through affiliated entities Fenway Summer Ventures LP, FS Venture Capital L.L.C., and other trust institutions, valued at approximately $192 million based on the current CRCL stock price.

CPO Nikhil Chandhok: Cashing out over $22 million, Holdings still exceed 600,000 shares

Nikhil Chandhok is the Chief Product Officer (CPO) of Circle. According to documents disclosed by U.S. regulators, he sold a total of approximately 758,000 shares of CRCL common stock between June 5 and June 6, at a selling price range of $29.3 to $31, cashing out approximately $22.7 million. If calculated at the current market price of $213.6, the potential paper profit from this portion of shares sold exceeds $160 million.

Currently, Nikhil Chandhok still holds approximately 606,000 shares of CRCL common stock, which is estimated to be worth about $130 million at the current stock price.