Circle's 2025 IPO founder's letter from Jeremy Allaire

About this letter

Jeremy Allaire, Circle's co-founder, chairman and chief executive, wrote this founder's letter for the registration statement on form S-1 that Circle Internet Group filed with the SEC on 1 April 2025 ahead of its initial public offering. It is written to people deciding whether to become investors in Circle.

Allaire traces his path from becoming what he calls an internet maximalist in 1990, through the 2008 financial crisis, which convinced him the financial system needed a new architecture rooted in the internet, to founding Circle with Sean Neville in 2013. He sets out the principles that guided the company towards the launch of USDC in 2018, reviews what it has achieved, and explains why he sees a listing on the New York Stock Exchange as a continuation of Circle's commitment to transparency and accountability.

What to notice

1. 1

   Allaire lists four founding principles: walking in through the front door of regulators and policymakers, a platform-first approach to technology, meeting the market where it is, and using compliance as a competitive advantage.

“It was in those moments that I became an internet maximalist.”