Circle moves its Legal Headquarters to the US ahead of Anticipated IPO

Circle, the issuer of crypto’s second-largest stablecoin, USD Coin (USDC), is set to move its legal headquarters from the Republic of Ireland to the United States ahead of its highly anticipated initial public offering (IPO).

According to the Bloomberg report, a company representative acknowledged on May 14 that court documents to change the domicile were recently filed but would not comment on the reason. This decision aligns with the firm's highly anticipated IPO as part of plans to become a publicly traded company, which was quietly submitted by Circle to the US securities regulator in January. The company also withheld information about the number of shares it intends to sell as well as the proposed price range.

The report further stated that Circle might have to pay higher corporate taxes in the United States as a result of the move, which would be different from Ireland's lower rates, which have drawn international corporations like Apple Inc. and Pfizer Inc. However, a minimum 15% tax rate on multinational profits has been implemented as a result of recent tax reforms by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Circle's strategic decision to shift its legal base from Ireland to the U.S. may also result in higher compliance costs, but investor confidence may be increased as a trade-off. The shift also coincides with the US government's tightening regulations surrounding cryptocurrencies.

Per cryptocurrency market tracker CoinGecko, USDC is currently the second-largest stablecoin, after Tether, and the seventh-largest cryptocurrency overall. The token has a market capitalization of $32.86 billion as of May 15. 

Circle's upcoming initial public offering may give USDC an advantage over Tether, its top competitor, and an increase in regulatory compliance might strengthen the token's standing in the stablecoin industry.

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