CRCL hits a new high, Circle executives and VC collectively missed gains of 2 billion USD.

Even if you are the founder, you may underestimate the market's greed in a bull run.

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

Written by: Protos

Compiled by: Ismay, BlockBeats

*Editor's note: Circle's share price has continued to soar since its listing, with CRCL skyrocketing from $29.30 to $300 at its offering price, becoming one of the biggest winners in the intersection of Wall Street and crypto circles. However, in this equity feast of stablecoin leaders, the earliest executives and venture capitalists have become the "disappointed" who missed the main rising wave. Many of them chose to reduce their holdings on IPO day, missing out on billion-dollar potential gains in just two weeks. This not only reveals a serious misjudgment of market expectations, but also reflects the cognitive fault line between the primary market and the secondary market in the new era of crypto finance. When even founders fail to predict the true value of their own stocks, it may be time to reconsider: who is the real smart money in this age of narrative-driven and emotionally leveraged ones? *

The following is the original text:

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

As of June 6, 2025, the potential earnings missed by these early sellers amount to as much as $1.9 billion. Rather than selling, it is more accurate to say they "lost by not buying"—their choices can be described as painful.

These executives and the venture capitalists 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 stocks would have reached several billion dollars.

For example, taking the Chief Product and Technology Officer of Circle, 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, as of last Friday's close, their value per share would have reached $240.28. 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 at the same price in the IPO, missing out on earnings of approximately $42 million.

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

Circle VC Misses Billion-Dollar Returns

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

Although these stocks brought them a considerable cash-out profit of $270 million, just two weeks later, the "opportunity cost" of this transaction had already been 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 only reduced part of their holdings during the IPO. For example, the well-known venture capital firm General Catalyst sold only about 10% of its holdings in CRCL shares. According to its latest Form 4 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the firm currently still holds over 20 million shares.

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

Yet, even so, the decision to sell at $29.30 appears quite awkward against the backdrop of CRCL's current price soaring to $240.28. While no one can predict the future, an 88% deviation in forecasts undoubtedly marks a "stunning misjudgment," which has long since carved out its place in financial history.