Circle’s stock price soared on Thursday alongside the stablecoin issuer’s debut on the New York Stock Exchange, capturing Wall Street’s growing embrace of digital dollars, according to analysts.

As a $250 billion industry, stablecoins may not be a large part of the financial system today, but Circle’s initial public offering shows that Wall Street investors are looking toward the years ahead, Gerry O’Shea, head of global market insights at asset manager Hashdex, told Decrypt.

“It’s a recognition that this industry is going to be a very important part of the U.S. capital markets going forward,” he said. “I think we’re just seeing this steady drum beat of the crypto businesses becoming more entwined, something that I think is going to continue.”

Although the New York-based firm targeted a $6.9 billion valuation, the company was worth over $18 billion at one point, as its stock price rocketed as high as $103, according to Yahoo Finance. For initial investors, Circle shares were offered at $31 on Thursday morning.

Circle’s USDC stablecoin, which debuted in 2018, has become the second largest stablecoin by market capitalization worth $61 billion, according to crypto data provider CoinGecko. The token is pegged to the price of the U.S. dollar, and Circle derives income from yield-bearing assets backing USDC like U.S. Treasuries.

O’Shea said that Circle’s start on Thursday is likely to “generate a lot of attention,” boosting the profile of stablecoins in the mainstream, beyond legislative initiatives on Capitol Hill.

Lawmakers in the Senate and House of Representatives are crafting legislation that would establish a pathway to legality for firms like Tether and Circle—if eventually signed into law.

“This is going to, I think, take us into the 21st century, in terms of upgrading our payment systems,” Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN), who introduced stablecoin legislation earlier this year, said in a Bloomberg interview that he shared on X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday.

Circle’s first day of trading bears all the hallmarks of a “blockbuster,” Juan Leon, a senior investment strategist at asset manager Bitwise, told Decrypt. He noted that the $1.1 billion raised through Circle’s initial public offering places it among the 10 biggest raises this year.

“You don’t see that often,” he said, calling it a “moon landing moment for stablecoins.”

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is among members of Trump’s inner circle backing efforts to regulate stablecoins, calling it a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to expand dollar dominance” by making the greenback available to anyone with an internet connection.

Leon said that Circle’s decision to begin trading publicly before legislation is passed was “a master move” because it puts Wall Street institutions—like Bank of America, which is waiting on legislation to begin offering its stablecoin—behind Circle before staid competitors can crop up.

On top of that, Circle’s IPO gives the company access to public market capital. That source of capital could prove critical, Leon added, if the company wants a new source of cash to “fund its mainstream commercial expansion.”

Edited by James Rubin