Circle and Tether have consecutively sparked a wave of crypto IPOs: How should we view the concerns of regulatory compliance and decentralization under the favor of capital?

With Circle's IPO, Tether's astonishing $500 billion valuation financing, and the $500 million pre-IPO financing of mainstream CEXs, the crypto industry is fully embracing Wall Street. This trend signifies that the crypto industry has gained legitimacy in mainstream finance, but experts warn of the risks of power concentration lurking behind it. VALR CEO Farzam Ehsani pointed out that the market premium for regulated digital asset platforms (such as Circle's stock price soaring tenfold) reflects investors' desire for key infrastructure, but this may lead shareholders to sacrifice innovation in pursuit of narrow interests. Meanwhile, stablecoins have become a core financial infrastructure, with a total circulating supply exceeding $296 billion, accounting for over 1% of the U.S. M2 Money Supply, and CITI expects it to reach $4 trillion by 2030. This deep integration will force crypto companies to balance innovation with increasingly stringent regulation and transparency.

Wall Street's Entry: Legitimacy Premium and Concentration of Power Risks

The latest wave of financing and listings in the encryption industry shows that the market has a strong interest in regulated systemic participants:

• Capital favors compliance: Circle's USDC IPO was successful, with its stock price soaring from $30 to $300, proving that mainstream investors are willing to pay a high premium for regulated digital asset platforms.
• Key Infrastructure: The financing actions of companies like Tether indicate that investors are generally optimistic about cryptocurrency companies that provide core financial infrastructure services.
• Decentralization Concerns: VALR CEO Farzam Ehsani warned that as the crypto industry begins to cater to Wall Street standards, the risks of power concentration increase. The drive for listings and shareholder interests may lead companies to deviate from their original decentralization principles and stifle innovation in pursuit of narrow commercial interests.

Stablecoin: The Core Pillar of Financial Infrastructure

The IPO wave of encryption companies, especially the listings of stablecoin issuers, reflects the increasingly important position of the industry in mainstream finance:

• The driving force of the macro narrative: Analyst Shawn Young points out that stablecoins have become a core part of the financial infrastructure.
• M2 Money Supply Ratio: The total circulating value of stablecoins has now exceeded 296 billion USD, accounting for more than 1% of the M2 Money Supply in the United States, which clearly indicates that stablecoins have secured a place in the existing payment system.
• Trillion-Dollar Potential: CITI forecasts that under a bull market scenario, the global stablecoin market is expected to reach a scale of $4 trillion by 2030, demonstrating its enormous growth potential and systemic importance.

Intensified Regulatory Scrutiny: Balancing Innovation and Transparency

The further integration of encryption companies with Wall Street will inevitably bring about legality and stricter regulatory scrutiny:

• Strict compliance requirements: Nav Markets senior advisor Lionel Iruk emphasized that public listings and large-scale financing require companies to strictly adhere to securities laws and enforce rigorous reporting and corporate governance across multiple jurisdictions.
• The Art of Balance: The challenge faced by crypto companies under new high standards is how to maintain their innovative vitality as technology-driven enterprises while meeting the operational scrutiny and transparency requirements of shareholders.

Conclusion

The IPO wave in the encryption industry is a sign of its maturity and mainstream acceptance. Companies like Circle and Tether have successfully raised funds and gone public, proving that Wall Street has officially embraced digital assets as core financial infrastructure. However, this mainstreaming does not come without cost: it forces companies to make difficult choices between capital efficiency and the principles of decentralization. As the share of stablecoins in M2 Money Supply continues to grow, regulatory compliance will become key to determining the future fate of these giants.

In the pursuit of capital and compliance from Wall Street, how do you think crypto companies should specifically design their corporate governance structure to mitigate the potential impact of "shareholder primacy" on decentralized innovation?