Circle has doubled its valuation after inking a deal with blank-check company Concord. Concord is the latest so-called Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) - another name for a blank-check company or shell company - to agree a reverse merger with a crypto firm.

Circle, the cryptocurrency startup backed by Goldman Sachs, has agreed to a merger with blank-check company Concord. The deal will value Circle at $3B and the combined market cap of the new entity is expected to be $9B.

Financing of all types has been tough this year, but companies still need to grow. It’s a strange paradox that’s led to explosion of SPACs taking companies public through reverse mergers. TechCrunch understands that one of the latest big private tech companies to ink a deal with a SPAC is Circle, the crypto financial services and stable coin provider that boasts major institutional clients like Goldman Sachs, and is part of the Blockchain Association.

The Unique StableCoin

Circle, a United States-based company, is another popular option for Crypto users in search of a stablecoin. Circle has an especially unique approach to its Stablecoin when compared to other coins, including Tether. Circle takes the stance that transparency helps reassure users that the USD-pegged coin is legitimate. As a result, it opted to undergo frequent third-party audits from regulators and make the results available for public viewing.

Public Auditing by Armanino

After launching a US dollars-backed Stablecoin in September 2019, Circle has partnered with the Florida-based auditing firm Armanino to conduct bi-quarterly audits on its fully reserved dollar tokens.