Circle Internet Group (NYSE: CRCL), the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, has indeed circled back to its initial public offering (IPO) price amid a broader crypto market pullback.
The company went public on June 5, 2025, pricing shares at $69—above the initial expected range of $50–$52—raising $1.1 billion and debuting with a fully diluted valuation of $6.8–$8 billion.
Shares surged to an all-time high of $298.99 shortly after, fueled by crypto hype, but have since erased nearly all gains, closing at around $69.72 on November 19, 2025, and trading near $66–$68 as of November 21.
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Key drivers of the decline include; Interest rate sensitivity: Circle’s revenue is heavily tied to yields on USDC reserves primarily short-term U.S. Treasuries. Management’s warnings about potential Federal Reserve rate cuts have spooked investors.
Insider selling and lockup expirations: Post-IPO hype led to a surge, but unlocking shares allowed insiders to sell, triggering a “sell-the-news” event after strong Q3 earnings 66% revenue growth, accelerating USDC circulation.
Broader crypto volatility, with Bitcoin capitulation at record levels, has amplified the drop. CRCL is down ~77% from its peak and ~40% in the last month. Despite the slump, analysts remain bullish: 17 firms rate it a “Buy” with a $144.92 12-month target (117% upside).
Institutional interest persists, with ARK Invest adding 215,000 shares recently. On X, traders are calling it a “full circle jerk” or “brutal reminder of IPO volatility,” but some see value for long-term stablecoin adoption.
CRCL’s fundamentals—USDC’s second-largest stablecoin status and revenue diversification—suggest this could be a buying opportunity if crypto rebounds, though volatility remains high.
Jesse Pollak Launches JESSE Token on Zora, Peaks at $26M Market Cap
Jesse Pollak, founder of Coinbase’s Base Layer-2 network, launched the $JESSE “creator coin” on Zora—a protocol for tokenizing social content—on November 20, 2025, at 9:00 AM PST.
Marketed as a playful experiment tying his personal brand to Base’s ecosystem, it quickly went viral but faced immediate bot sniping and volatility. Contrary to some early reports citing $7M peaks, on-chain data and trader chatter confirm it hit a high of ~$26M market cap within hours, driven by thousands of buy transactions before cooling.
Minted via Pollak’s Base app account on Zora, which auto-generates tradable tokens from posts. $JESSE builds on his prior “content coin” experiments, like the controversial “Base is for everyone” (BASE) mint in April 2025.
Pollak warned of impersonators pre-launch. It surged on speculation but saw rapid dumps, with X users noting “uphill battles” for late buyers. Ties to Zora’s $5.8B token up 18.9% amid the buzz amplified interest.
This fits Pollak’s pattern of Zora shilling—90% of his recent Base tokens have dropped 60%+—drawing fire for potential hype over substance. Coinbase Ventures’ backing of Zora ($60M raised) fuels debates on whether it’s innovation or “profit play.”
Post-peak, $JESSE trades lower (~$10–15M cap estimates from DEX tools like Dexscreener), with ongoing activity in ZORA/ETH pools. It’s community-driven with light utility for Base engagement, but expect meme-like swings.
On X, reactions range from excitement “fastest-moving on Base” to skepticism “another pump-and-dump?”. These events highlight crypto’s wild duality: institutional stability (CRCL) clashing with experimental memes ($JESSE). Both underscore Base/Zora’s growing role in tokenized culture, but DYOR—volatility is the only constant.