Shares of Circle (CRCL), the company behind the USDC stablecoin, soared 167% on their first day of trading Thursday, closing at $83 after opening at $31. 

Uber is once again weighing whether to let customers pay with crypto, this time with an eye on stablecoins.

Plume Network, a blockchain project focused on real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, launched its mainnet with $150 million in tokenized assets deployed on-chain.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Circle Stock Surges 167% in Market Debut
• Uber Reconsiders Stablecoin Payments for Global Transfers, CEO Says
• Plume Network Launches Mainnet With $150M in Tokenized Real-World Assets

Circle Stock Surges 167% in Market Debut

Shares of Circle (CRCL), the company behind the USDC stablecoin, soared 167% on their first day of trading Thursday, closing at $83 after opening at $31. 

The stock hit an intraday high of $104, prompting comparisons to Coinbase’s explosive, and ultimately deflating, initial public offering (IPO) in 2021.

The market’s reaction was electric, but the mood may not remain entirely celebratory. Coinbase, which also represented a milestone for the crypto sector when it went public, saw its shares dive below $200 just a month after peaking at $430. 

Circle’s debut didn’t just shake up equities. On-chain data shows a ripple effect in the stablecoin market, with trading volume for Circle’s USDC token climbing 22% in 24 hours. 

Tether’s USDT, the market’s largest stablecoin, also saw a 13% rise in volume.

Uber Reconsiders Stablecoin Payments for Global Transfers, CEO Says

Uber is once again weighing whether to let customers pay with crypto, this time with an eye on stablecoins.

CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said that the ride-hailing firm is exploring the use of stablecoins for cross-border payments, calling them “one of the more interesting instantiations of crypto.” His words came during an on-stage interview at the Bloomberg Tech conference in San Francisco.

This isn’t the first time Khosrowshahi has publicly toyed with crypto. 

In 2021, he told CNBC the company would "look into" accepting bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as payment. He later said Uber had no plans to hold crypto on its balance sheet, preferring to “keep our cash safe.” 

By early 2022, he was again bullish in public, telling Bloomberg the company would “absolutely” accept crypto “at some point,” though he added that the timing wasn’t right.

Plume Network Launches Mainnet With $150M in Tokenized Real-World Assets

Plume Network, a blockchain project focused on real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, launched its mainnet with $150 million in tokenized assets deployed on-chain.

The modular, Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatible Layer 2 is backed by major investors including Apollo Global, Haun Ventures, and Galaxy. 

Plume says its infrastructure is designed to bring billions of dollars in traditional assets into decentralized finance (DeFi), spanning sectors from renewable energy and healthcare to consumer credit and corporate lending.

At launch, Plume users can access "Nest vaults," institutional-grade smart contracts that let users stake stablecoins and receive yield-bearing tokens backed by tokenized real-world assets. 

Those tokens can then be used in other DeFi protocols as collateral or to borrow additional capital in a process known as “looping.”

State of the Crypto by Top Tier Exchange Volume

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