- Trump’s tariffs have had knock-on effects around the economy, especially private equity.
- Crypto firms like Circle and eToro have shelved plans to go public until there’s more market certainty.
A slate of fintech firms looking to go public in 2025, including stablecoin stalwarts Circle, are shelving those plans as the world economy spirals into a trade war.
Just days after the issuer behind the $60 billion stablecoin USDC filed its registration to hit the New York Stock Exchange, the Wall Street Journal reported that it was mulling delaying the share sale.
Circle did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
CEOs on edge
Uncertainties around President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff regime are spooking other CEOs.
Stock and crypto trading app eToro postponed its IPO tradeshow for similar reasons on April 6, according to Axios. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
And buy-now-pay-later company Klarna, ticketing service StubHub, and advertising platform MNTN are also putting off plans, per CNBC.
“It’s a pretty steep market backdrop and uncertainty created through tariffs,” Karl-Martin Ahrend, co-founder of crypto M&A consultancy Areta, told DL News. “That overall macro tailwind is shutting down IPO markets.”
The environment may get even worse.
“It’s likely that we’ll still go lower from here,” Carlos Guzman, an analyst at crypto market maker GSR, told DL News, referring to crypto prices.
“There are no apparent near-term positive catalysts for crypto that would justify a decoupling from the grim macro situation.”
Crypto markets chop
On Monday, markets see-sawed after steep losses last week and as cryptocurrencies plunged over the weekend.
On Monday morning, cryptocurrencies across the board shed nearly $250 billion in value, according to CoinGecko.
Bitcoin rebounded to about $79,000 after tumbling below $75,000.
The VIX, a measure of volatility in the stock market known as the fear index, had soared to levels not seen since March 2020.
Stocks for JPMorgan and Citigroup, which are underwriting Circle’s public listing, have dropped 13% and 18% over the last five days, respectively.
Thanks to Trump, they’re all hitting the skids.
Liam Kelly is a Berlin-based reporter for DL News. Got a tip? Email him at liam@dlnews.com.