General
My Attempt at reading a Crypto S-1 unbiased
S-1's are our first look at a company's financials before they go public.
Shares of Circle, a USD Stablecoin, are expected to start trading later today
I'm holding my nose, trying to read a Crypto S-1. Remember, we're on the lookout for productive assets. If a company-- even a crypto company-- has cashflow, we can value it.
First off, the S-1 Starts with a "Founder's letter", which I love.
He starts the letter calling himself an "internet maximalist"
And then during the GFC he discovered the Bitcoin (who woulda guessed)
He wants to create an "HTTP for Money"... and adulates the internet for being open protocol that he wants to replicate.... kinda weird for a public company...
Circles Mission: "to raise global economic prosperity through the frictionless exchange of value", and they welcome working with Policymakers/Compliance
But they have posted some pretty incredible feats. As of May 23, 2025, more than $25T in onchain transactions occured
Ugh. He Got me with these last two paragraphs.
While we are proud and confident about our ability to pursue this opportunity, our future (like our past) is rife with uncertainties and risks that we must navigate successfully. In fact, we have dedicated a large part of this prospectus to describe those risks and I encourage you to read them in the “Risk factors” section. Becoming a public company enables us to allow the general public to come with us for the journey.
All in all, these guys are trying to recreate the backend of Global Finance. I'm thinking this may be in the 'too hard' category for me.
And I don't like their financials.
⏳