Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, has revealed its plans for an initial public offering (IPO) after facing regulatory challenges from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in a previous attempt to go public. The SEC questioned Circle about the classification of USDC as a security and whether it could be considered an “investment company” rather than an “operating company,” which would impose additional restrictions on its business activities. Circle engaged in a year-long correspondence with the SEC to address these concerns. Despite the failed SPAC merger, Circle announced in January that it would pursue a traditional IPO as its second attempt to go public. Circle and Coinbase co-founded USDC in 2018 and managed it together until last year when Circle took over all governance and operations responsibilities. Coinbase, the leading US cryptocurrency exchange, also purchased an equity stake in Circle.