CRCL new high: founder missed gains 330 million, early shareholders collectively miss out 1.9 billion

Original title: Circle execs and VCs misread the market—it cost them $2B

Original Author: Protos

Original compilation: Ismay, BlockBeats

Editor’s note: Since its listing, Circle's stock price has continued to soar, with CRCL skyrocketing from its issue price of $29.30 to $300, becoming one of the biggest winners at the intersection of Wall Street and the crypto world. However, in this equity feast of stablecoin leaders, the earliest executives and venture capitalists have instead become the "losers" who missed the main rally. Many of them chose to reduce their holdings on the day of the IPO, missing out on potential gains in the billion-dollar range within just two weeks. This not only reveals a serious misjudgment of market expectations but also reflects a cognitive gap between the primary and secondary markets in the new era of crypto finance. When even the founders couldn't predict the true value of their own stock, perhaps we should rethink: in this era filled with narrative-driven and emotional leverage, who is the truly smart money?

The following is the original content:

Executives and venture capitalists who chose to sell their shares in Circle (stock code: CRCL) during its IPO missed a price surge comparable to a rocket launch.

By June 6, 2025, the potential earnings missed by these early sellers could reach as high as $1.9 billion. Rather than selling, it would be more accurate to say they "lost by not buying"—their choice is nothing short of painful.

These executives cashed out at a price of $29.30 per share, totaling about $270 million. However, if they had been willing to hold on for a few more weeks, the value of their shares would have soared to several billion dollars.

Taking the Chief Product and Technology Officer of Circle as an example, he sold 300,000 shares of Class A common stock in the IPO at a transaction price of $29.30 per share. If he had not sold these shares, their value per share would have reached $240.28 as of last Friday's close. In other words, he personally lost about $63 million in potential earnings because of this.

The Chief Financial Officer of Circle also sold 200,000 shares in the IPO at the same price, missing out on approximately $42 million in earnings.

Even the founder Jeremy Allaire was not spared. He sold 1.58 million shares in the IPO at the same price of $29.30 per share. If he had chosen to hold at that time, he would now have an unrealized gain of up to $333 million.

Circle VC missed out on billion-dollar returns

In Circle's initial public offering (IPO), venture capital firms, executives, and other insiders sold a total of at least 9,226,727 shares of common stock at a price of $29.30 per share.

Although these stocks brought them a substantial cash-out profit of $270 million, just two weeks later, the "opportunity cost" of this transaction was astonishing.

If they had chosen to continue holding these stocks at that time, they could have made an additional 1.9 billion dollars today.

Objectively speaking, some venture capitalists have only reduced a portion of their holdings in IPOs. For example, the well-known venture capital firm General Catalyst sold only about 10% of its CRCL shares. According to its latest Form 4 filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the firm still owns more than 20 million shares.

The situation of founder Jeremy Allaire is similar; he currently holds over 17 million shares and owns options and restricted stock. Many other venture capital firms and company executives have also retained a considerable portion of their initial investments.

However, even so, the decision to sell at $29.30 now seems quite awkward given that the CRCL stock price has soared to $240.28. While no one can predict the future, a prediction deviation of up to 88% is undoubtedly a "stunning misjudgment" that has already carved out its place in financial history.