Company: CRCL
Filing Date: 2025-04-18
Form Type: S-1/A
Source: 0001193125-25-084832
Chunk: 328

Company: Circle Internet Group, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-04-18
Form: S-1/A
Chunk 328
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ing provisions; (iii) the option exercise price, which must be at least 100.0% of the fair market value of the common stock as of
the date of grant; and (iv) the duration of the award, which may not exceed 10 years.

The Board and, where delegated, its committees, may also grant restricted
stock awards entitling recipients to acquire shares of common stock subject to (i) delivery to the Circle by the participant of cash or other lawful

F-20

consideration in an amount at least equal to the par value of the stock purchased, and (ii) the right of Circle to repurchase all or part of such stock at their issue price in the event that conditions specified in the applicable award are not satisfied prior to the end of the applicable restriction period. In certain circumstances, the Company also grants stock-based awards to non-employeesin lieu or in reduction of cash compensation for their services. The stock-based awards granted to non-employeeshave the same terms as those granted to employees under the Award Plan. For stock-based awards granted to non-employees,compensation expense is recognized based on the grant date fair value of the awards on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period. The Company recognizes stock-based compensation expense, net of estimated forfeitures, using a fair-value based method for costs related to all equity awards issued under the equity incentive plans, including options and RSUs granted to employees, directors, and non-employees.Stock-based compensation expense is recognized and included in Compensation expenses in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. The Company estimates the fair value of stock options with only service-based conditions on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes-Merton (“Black-Scholes”) option-pricing model. The fair value of the stock option is expensed over the related service period which is typically the vesting period and the straight-line method is used for expense attribution. The model requires management to make a number of assumptions, including the fair value and expected volatility of our underlying common stock, expected term of the stock option, risk-free interest rate, and expected dividend yield. The expected term of the stock option is based on the average period the stock option is expected to remain outstanding based on the stock option’s vesting and contractual terms. The estimated forfeiture rate is based on accumulated historical forfeiture data. The Company evaluates the assumptions used to value stock awards quarterly. The RSUs vest upon the satisfaction of both a service condition and a liquidity condition. Both the service