Stablecoin firm Circle, the issuer of the USDC (USDC) dollar-pegged token, is reportedly mulling a delay of its initial public offering (IPO) plans amid the macroeconomic uncertainty created by the Trump administration’s trade policies.

According to The Wall Street Journal, “Circle had been nearing its next steps in going public, but is now watching anxiously before deciding what to do,” and joins a growing list of companies considering IPO delays, including fintech company Klarna and ticketing firm StubHub.

Circle filed an S-1 registration form with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to take the company public on April 1.

Circle’s S-1 registration form for its initial public offering. Source: SEC

The stablecoin firm is planning to sell its shares under the ticker symbol “CRCL.” Circle’s prospectus materials have not yet outlined details of the number of shares offered or the initial stock price.

Circle’s potential IPO delay comes amid turmoil in the stock market as trillions in shareholder value dissipated following US President Donald Trump’s April 2 announcement of sweeping trade tariffs and investor fears that a protracted trade war could cause a global recession.

Related: Trump ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs create chaos in markets, recession concerns

Trump’s protectionist trade policies crash markets

Trump’s sweeping tariff order established a 10% baseline tariff on all countries and reciprocal trade tariffs on countries that tax US imports.

Over $2 trillion was wiped away from the US stock market on April 3 as investors pivoted from risk-on assets to less volatile alternatives as a response to the growing macroeconomic uncertainty.

US stocks shed trillions in shareholder value following Trump’s sweeping tariff order. Source: TradingView

The Volatility S&P 500 Index (VIX), a measure of stock market volatility colloquially named the “Wall Street Fear Index,” is currently over 41 — an indication of extreme fear among stock market investors.

Fears of a US recession continue to mount as other countries respond to the Trump administration’s trade policies with counter-tariffs.

ARK Invest founder Cathie Wood voiced concerns over a looming recession prior to the US President officially signing the tariff order.

“We are worried about a recession. We think the velocity of money is slowing down dramatically,” Wood told an audience gathered for the Digital Asset Summit on March 18.

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Blockchain startup Codex has raised $15.8 million to build a layer-2 network specifically for stablecoins, signaling that more builders are rushing to capitalize on the growing industry and regulatory alignment around fiat-backed stable assets. 

The seed round was led by Dragonfly Capital, with additional participation from Coinbase, Circle, Cumberland Labs, Wintermute Ventures and others, Codex told Fortune.

The funding will be used to help Codex build its stablecoin-only platform from the ground up, said co-founder and CEO Haonan Li.

Source: Victor Yaw

Codex has disavowed “general-purpose blockchains” because of their inefficiencies in meeting real-world use cases, said Li. Instead, Codex is building a stablecoin-only chain on top of Optimism, an Ethereum layer-2 scaling solution that uses rollup technology to boost transaction speeds and lower costs.

Although details about the Codex chain were sparse, Li said the stablecoin solution aims to create a predictable fee structure that isn’t influenced by volatile blockchain activity. 

Codex is also aiming to build stablecoin off-ramps with existing cryptocurrency exchanges and local brokers, which would allow users to cash out their onchain assets for fiat. 

Related: Stablecoin adoption grows with new US bills, Japan’s open approach

The stablecoin “hunch” 

In 2023, Li had a “hunch” that stablecoins would be the next major blockchain growth story, which at the time “was a pretty contrarian view among these core crypto people,” he told Fortune. 

Codex co-founder Victor Yaw said the stablecoin market has grown 60 times in the last six years, but still only accounts for less than 2% of offshore US dollar deposits. 

“We haven’t even scratched the surface,” he said.

Stablecoin demand has shown signs of resilience, growing in the face of adverse crypto market conditions. Although crypto markets plunged in the first quarter, stablecoin supplies increased by $30 billion during that period, according to crypto intelligence firm IntoTheBlock. 

The total stablecoin market capitalization now sits at nearly $230 billion. The vast majority of stable assets are backed by US dollars. 

The stablecoin circulating supply has grown by nearly 3% over the past 30 days. Source: RWA.xyz

Codex isn’t the only stablecoin network to emerge from stealth this year. In January, a layer-1 network called 1Money raised $20 million to further develop its stablecoin payment platform. 

1Money’s founder and former Binance.US chief Brian Shroder told Cointelegraph that the future of stablecoins will be “multicurrency,” with stable assets extending beyond the dominant US dollar. 

Growth beyond the US dollar will likely be fueled by “demand for localized stablecoin financial solutions and use cases,” said Shroder.

Related: ‘We’re bullish on stablecoins,’ next-gen DeFi — Coinbase Ventures head

A group of investors with cryptocurrency custody and trading firm Bakkt Holdings filed a class-action lawsuit alleging false or misleading statements and a failure to disclose certain information.

Lead plaintiff Guy Serge A. Franklin called for a jury trial as part of a complaint against Bakkt, senior adviser and former CEO Gavin Michael, CEO and president Andrew Main, and interim chief financial officer Karen Alexander, according to an April 2 filing in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.

The group of investors allege damages as the result of violations of US securites laws and a lack of transparency surrounding its agreement with clients: Webull and Bank of America (BoA).

April 2 complaint against Bakkt and its executives. Source: PACER

The loss of Bank of America and Webull will result “in a 73% loss in top line revenue” due to the two firms making up a significant percentage of its services revenue, the investor group alleges in the lawsuit. The filing stated Webull made up 74% of Bakkt’s crypto services revenue through most of 2023 and 2024, and Bank of America made up 17% of its loyalty services revenue from January to September 2024.

Related: Bakkt names new co-CEO amid re-focus on crypto offerings

Bakkt disclosed on March 17 that Bank of America and Webull did not intend to renew their agreements with the firm ending in 2025. The announcement likely contributed to the company’s share price falling more than 27% in the following 24 hours. The investors allege Bakkt “misrepresented the stability and/or diversity of its crypto services revenue” and failed to disclose that this revenue was “substantially dependent” on Webull’s contract.

“As a result of Defendants’ wrongful acts and omissions, and the precipitous decline in the market value of the Company’s securities, Plaintiff and other Class members have suffered significant losses and damages,” said the suit.

Other law offices said they were investigating Bakkt for securities law violations, suggesting additional class-action lawsuits may be in the works. Cointelegraph contacted Bakkt for a comment on the lawsuit but did not receive a response at the time of publication.

Prices affected by Trump Media reports

Bakkt’s share price surged roughly 162% in November 2024 after reports suggested that then-US President-elect Donald Trump’s media company was considering acquiring the firm. As of April 2025, neither company has officially announced a deal.

Shares in Bakkt (BKKT) were $8.15 at the time of publication, having fallen more than 36% in the previous 30 days.

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