According to ChainCatcher, Coindesk cited people familiar with the matter as saying that Circle Internet Financial's privately held shares are being traded on the secondary market, and their prices mean that the stablecoin issuer is valued at $5 billion to $5.25 billion before its planned initial public offering.

One of the people familiar with the matter said that the sellers were early investors or Circle employees who withdrew their funds for liquidity reasons. Before a company goes public, employees usually have the opportunity to cash in their stock options. Two people familiar with the matter said that the company does not allow transactions with a valuation below $5 billion.