Alright fam, buckle the hell up — because this one’s not just spicy, it’s straight habanero-level heat from behind the closed doors of crypto capital.
In a move that’s got the entire Web3 world clutching their coffee cups and double-checking their portfolios, Arca’s Chief Investment Officer Jeff Dorman dropped an absolute nuke on stablecoin kingpin Circle — and did it with the kind of rhetorical grenade you’d expect from a sailor, not a Suit. That’s right. We’re talking full F-bomb status in a formal investor letter.
Yeah, you read that right. Dorman took the gloves off, lit the match, and set the carefully crafted PR machine of Circle ablaze. The target? Circle’s much-anticipated, Goldman Sachs-blessed, Wall Street-watched IPO.
Welcome to 2024, where polite pamphlets are out, and pistol-whip prose is in.
Let’s rewind. Arca ain’t just any player in the crypto investment game — we’re talking day-one believers, the kind you bring to your wedding. Dorman even states it loud and clear: Arca was one of Circle’s earliest backers. But now? That love story is looking more like a crypto-thriller than a honeymoon.
In the leaked letter making rounds faster than airdrop alpha, Dorman calls out Circle’s “atrocious financials,” “severe growth limitations,” and — wait for it — declares that the USDC issuer should’ve tapped out instead of tapping public markets. And yeah, somewhere in that paragraph, he lobs the infamous four-letter word like he’s slinging meme coins in a Discord voice chat.
The context? Circle filed again for its IPO after a failed SPAC deal back in 2022. The timing’s intriguing — markets are cautiously tipping back toward risk-on, and Circle, flush with prestige partnerships (hello, BlackRock), wants in. But Dorman’s not buying it — literally or figuratively.
He roasted the firm’s stagnant growth, questioned its long-term vision in a world where stablecoin innovation is outpacing slow governance, and — let’s be honest — probably made more headlines than Circle itself did with the IPO S-1.
And look, for those who’ve been watching closely, this ain’t a one-off tantrum. Dorman’s been pulling receipts for months, threading the needle between macro bearishness and shake-the-foundation criticism of firms he thinks are coasting on legacy hype. But this Circle drop? It’s his mic-dropping moment. And it’s sending reverberations across VC group chats faster than you can copy a contract address.
So, what’s the alpha here? Two big takeaways:
First — and this is key — institutional crypto is entering a new phase. The suits are tired of playing nice. Everyone’s bag-holding, and patience is thinner than ETH gas fees during an NFT mint.
Second, and maybe more importantly — don’t sleep on the fact that Arca even made this public. This isn’t your usual backroom bickering. The move was surgical. Intentional. Bold.
Is this a power grab? A publicity play? Or a legit warning shot to a Circle that’s dancing a little too close to the TradFi bonfire?
Time will tell. But one thing’s for sure — the drama just elevated from spreadsheet shade to Game of Thrones-level betrayal. And whether you’re bullish or bearish on Circle’s public debut, you can’t ignore that when a major investor lights a match like this… the whole market takes notice.
Crypto’s no longer just about tokens and tech. It’s about narrative. And right now? Circle’s IPO isn’t the only one on trial — it’s every company hustling to play both sides of the Web2/Web3 fence.
So, who’s in? Who’s trimming exposure? And who’s out here hunting that next generational asymmetric play while the titans fight it out?
Keep your eyes open and your bags diversified, fam. We’re just getting started.
Let’s get this bread.
– Jake Gagain
