The crypto finance firm, Circle, denied reports that it was blaming the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for its plan to go public being shuttered not too long ago.
In a statement on its blog, the company stated that it had opted to “shift its focus to other strategic opportunities” after a “lengthy process of review and discussion with a number of public market stakeholders.”
The company had announced its intention to become public via the proposed acquisition of a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) – a shell company that takes a firm public without having to file an initial public offering (IPO) – in October of 2020.
Circle Denied Reports & Claims
At the time, Circle had said that it was “well on its way to becoming a publicly traded company within the year,” and had also stated that its total pre-money valuation was $4.2 billion.
However, in recent weeks, reports began to emerge suggesting that the SEC had blocked the deal from going through, citing concerns that the SPAC did not have the resources to properly evaluate the risk associated with the acquisition.
Circle’s statement denied those claims, saying that “there was no basis for the SEC to take any action to interfere with the SPAC transaction or the associated process.”
The company also stated that it still believes that the SPAC route is a viable way for many digital asset companies to go public, and that it is “still actively talking to a number of potential partners and capital providers with potential solutions”.
Whatever the case may be, it appears that Circle is no longer pursuing the route of a traditional IPO, and is instead preferring to focus on strategic opportunities that, while they may not be as flashy as a public listing, may still result in a successful exit.
