Ripple Partner SBI Dives $50M into Circle IPO – Who Said Money Can’t Buy Happiness? 💸

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On June 9, as if the world needed another drama, the mighty SBI Group from Japan declared a daring move—throwing $50 million into the wild waters of Circle Internet Group (NYSE: CRCL). Because why not? When the IPO beckons, the wise invest, or so they say, while others ponder their existence and the meaning of decentralized finance.

The Tokyo-based financiers, perhaps over-caffeinated or just bored, evenly distributed their fortune across SBI Holdings and SBI Shinsei Bank, making it clear: they like to keep their bets balanced, like a tightrope walker with a penchant for high-stakes gambling.

SBI Group’s Two-Year Love Affair with Circle Gets Serious

According to some numerology-inspired report from Nikkei—probably by someone who has never seen a crypto chart—SBI, a key partner of Ripple Labs $2.29 XRp, bought 5% of Circle’s IPO shares, or 170,000 units of digital cheer, at least according to the paper’s secret math. Because, of course, holding a tiny slice of a billion-dollar pie totally guarantees eternal happiness, or at least a good story at dinner parties.

This move wraps up their two-year romance in the world of digital currencies, bolstered by a business agreement signed in November 2023. Ah, romance in the time of blockchain! 🍷💻

Remember, back then, Circle aimed to extend its empire into Japan through a handshake—and perhaps a few sponsorship deals—to make USDC coins dance across Tokyo’s financial scene. All this was happening just after Japan decided to sprinkle some regulatory fairy dust on stablecoins, turning chaos into order, or at least into some sort of bureaucratic ballet.

Following their ritualistic contract signing, their relationship blossomed like a cherry blossom—digital blossoms, of course—spanning various sectors of the wild west of finance.

SBI VC Trade Debuts USDC to the Japanese Masses

Earlier this year, SBI VC Trade emerged like a hero from the shadows, offering Japan’s first public exposure to USDC. Because, apparently, “cryptocurrency as a public service” is now a thing, and SBI was the pioneering knight—cloak and all. 🦸‍♂️

They registered as a bona fide “electronic payment instrument” business, just to make sure regulators didn’t get too excited. The rollout was conducted in a sort of ‘beta,’ like trying a new recipe—if it works, great; if not, blame the software gods.

Patience, dear reader, patience, as they carefully observed and tweaked their digital dance before letting the masses join the party.

Circle’s Big Night on the NYSE Stage

Meanwhile, amid all this jazz, Circle finally took the plunge—going public on the NYSE after several attempts, failures, and dramatic cliffhangers. Because if it’s not dramatic, is it even Wall Street? They sold 24 million shares in the classic game of “who wants a piece of the stablecoin pie?”

They started with modest caps—$24.00 to $26.00—and then, with the grace of a soaring eagle, the price shot up to about $28.00, just to keep everyone on their toes. Turns out, everyone wanted a slice because the IPO was 25 times oversubscribed, proving that if you build it, they will buy (sometimes at crazy prices).

When the curtain rose, shares opened at $69 and closed at $83.23, turning Circle into a giant worth $16.7 billion—no small feat. Their fundraising ride raised between $1.05 billion and $1.1 billion, making it arguably the most glamorous fintech debut since Coinbase in 2021—because who doesn’t love a good tech story?

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2025-06-11 00:05