Crypto giant Circle Internet Group’s stock surged 123% above their initial offer price on Thursday in a major boost to an IPO market that had stagnated in recent months.

Shares of Circle, which moved to New York from Boston last year and is led by CEO Jeremy Alliare, opened at $69. That pushed the company’s valuation to nearly $18 billion. It is the second-largest public listing by a crypto firm.

The strong projected debut came after Circle priced its IPO at $31 per share after the market closed on Wednesday – up from an earlier expected range of $27 to $28 per share.

Circle is set for its NYSE debut on Thursday. AP

Circle is best known as the issuer of USD Coin (USDC), which is pegged one-for-one to the US dollar. USDC is the world’s second-largest stablecoin by market capitalization

See Full Page