Circle stock, CRCL, experienced a significant decline over the past day following news of a proposed ban on stablecoin yield. Despite this selloff, Bitwise’s CIO maintains that the market reaction was excessive and projects that the company’s valuation will likely double by 2030. Related Reading: Cardano Price At Multi-Year Support That Previously Led To 200% Rally – ADA Recovery Ahead? Circle Selloff Was ‘Overblown’ – Bitwise CIO On Tuesday, Circle Internet Financial, the issuer behind the USDC stablecoin, saw its stock crash 22% to $98 following reports about lawmakers’ decision on the stablecoin yield dispute. CRCL’s selloff was driven by news that a revised draft of the Senate Banking Committee’s crypto market structure bill, known as the CLARITY Act, would prohibit platforms from offering yield, directly or indirectly, for holding a stablecoin, or in a manner that resembles a bank deposit. Despite the selloff, some market experts have made the case for Circle, highlighting it as a good opportunity and “the most obvious choice” to invest in the stablecoins sector. In his weekly memo, Bitwise’s CIO, Matt Hougan, called the market’s reaction “overblown.” He asserted that the latest draft of the CLARITY Act doesn’t alter the base case forecast for Circle. Interest income has not been a primary driver of stablecoin growth to date; the vast majority of stablecoins today are held in ways that don’t pay interest. Stablecoins have exploded in popularity because they let people move money anywhere in the world efficiently and reliably—for trade settlement, as collateral in lending, as an alternative to unstable national currencies, and more. Hougan also emphasized that stablecoins offer convenience, which is “the killer app for money,” pointing out that the average savings account and average checking account yield 0.60% and 0.07%, respectively. “People aren’t parking their money there for the yield,” he noted, adding that as the global financial system increasingly transitions to blockchain-based rails, stablecoins are expected to assume a more significant role in this shift, irrespective of whether they offer interest. The Case For Circle’s $75B Valuation Diving deeper into his outlook for Circle, Hougan shared key projections for the broader stablecoin sector’s market capitalization and the company’s potential market share in the coming years. Citing Citigroup’s report, he asserted that the “base case” for stablecoin‘s assets under management (AUM) projects it will reach $1.9 trillion by 2030, while a “bull case” estimates it at $4 trillion. Bitwise’s CIO also highlighted that Circle’s USDC, the second-largest dollar-pegged token, holds 25% of the overall stablecoin market share, only behind Tether’s USDT, but has a much larger share of the regulated stablecoin market, with an estimated 80%+ share. If you think much of the growth of stablecoin AUM will come from those markets (as banks, fintechs, and major enterprises opt for onshore, regulated stablecoins), you might expect Circle’s market share to increase well beyond its current 25% share. Lastly, he addressed what Circle could potentially earn on deposits in four years. As he explained, the company earns roughly 4% interest on $80 billion of its AUM backing USDC, but shares around 60% with distribution partners like Coinbase, netting a 1.6% take rate. Related Reading: Ethereum Tops $2,100 As BitMine Ramps Up ETH Bet With $137M Purchase While its sustainability hinges on interest rates and competition from rival stablecoins, Hougan projected that the take rate will be cut in half by 2030, to 0.8%. Using these “conservative assumptions” on the broader stablecoins market cap, the company’s market share, and margin, Bitwise’s CIO concluded that Circle could hit “$75 billion by 2030—even with the recent CLARITY Act concerns.” Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com
The fight over stablecoin yield is less about protecting consumers and more about protecting banking incumbents, argues Bill Hughes, Senior Counsel and Director of Global Regulatory Matters for Consensys.
Allowing crypto exchanges and other intermediaries to offer yield-like incentives on payment stablecoins would pose significant risks to local economies, argues Kevin Paintner, chairman of the Independent Community Bankers of America’s Digital Assets Subcommittee.
The banking lobby’s efforts to revisit or reinterpret Congress’ decisions regarding stablecoin rewards are driven by attempts to re-litigate settled law and blunt competition after the fact, argues Blockchain Association’s Summer Mersinger.
If bipartisan agreements like the GENIUS Act can be immediately reopened whenever an incumbent industry dislikes their competitive implications, legislative compromise becomes impossible, argues Blockchain Association CEO Summer Mersinger.
Rep. French Hill's name may or may not end up on any of the final legislation that becomes crypto law in the U.S., but he was the one driving it forward.
The Tennessee Republican sponsored the first piece of stablecoin legislation to become a U.S. law.
Rep. French Hill's name may or may not end up on any of the final legislation that becomes crypto law in the U.S., but he was the one driving it forward.
The Tennessee Republican sponsored the first piece of stablecoin legislation to become a U.S. law.
The U.S. has the deepest liquidity in crypto markets and is home to some of the largest issuers and exchanges, but without a comprehensive market structure we risk ceding ground to Latin America and Europe, Congressman French Hill argues.
The winners of the next decade will not be those who move fast and break things, says Chris Brummer, Georgetown law professor and CEO of Bluprynt. Instead, the winners will be those who move smart and build things that last.
Decentralization is not enough to determine whether a blockchain is truly mature, argues Algorand’s Chief Strategy Officer Marc Vanlerberghe.
Shan Aggarwal says the crypto industry is still underselling how fast and forceful the shift to the stablecoin standard will be, and how quickly AI will accelerate it.
Crypto legislation appears to be back on track after US lawmakers passed a motion to reconsider three crucial digital asset bills in a narrow vote. This effort follows Tuesday’s failed attempt to advance the proposed legislation to a floor debate during the “Crypto week.” Related Reading: SUI Eyes 140% Move As Price Reclaims $4 – New ATH Imminent? US House Passes Motion To Reconsider On Wednesday, the US House of Representatives voted on a motion to reconsider three major crypto legislations that failed to pass their procedural vote on Tuesday. As reported by NewsBTC, Congress’s lower chamber blocked the motion in a 196-223 vote, with 13 Republicans siding with the Democrats. Following the failed vote, Lawmakers had reportedly planned to hold a vote to reconsider the motion for later in the day, but it was ultimately scheduled for Wednesday morning. On Tuesday night, US President Donald Trump personally met with 11 of the 12 Republican representatives needed to pass the bills, securing their support. The lawmakers met for the second time this week to decide the fate of the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act of 2025, and the anti-CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency) bill. The motion to reconsider the trio of bills cleared the House in a 215-211 vote, with all Republican representatives voting in favor this time. Now, the US House prepares to hold a new procedural vote later today and decide whether to send the three landmark bills to a final vote. Representative Andy Harris shared on X that “House Freedom Caucus Members will be voting in favor of the rule today after reaching an agreement with President Trump last night.” Under the agreement, the House Committee on Rules will meet today to include “clear, strong, anti–Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) provisions to the CLARITY legislation” to ensure Americans are “protected from government overreach into their financial privacy.” Crypto Legislation Faces New Challenges Despite the crucial approval of a motion to reconsider, the bills now face a new roadblock. Politico reporter Meredith Lee Hill revealed that “there’s another crypto mess unfolding on the House floor.” In a series of X posts, the journalist affirmed that the potential merger of two of the three crypto legislations could pose a problem for the upcoming vote. Seemingly, the House Grand Old Party (GOP) leaders are trying to combine the House’s market structure and anti-CBDC bills after passing the floor. However, Republicans from the House Financial Services Committee are hesitating at that plan, as it “will doom Clarity.” House Agriculture Committee Republican representatives also consider that combining the two bills could kill the CLARITY Act, arguing that “even the threat of doing this emergency rules meeting may have already done so.” Journalist Eleanor Terret added that combining the bills could make CLARITY harder to pass because “they risk losing Dem votes over the anti-CBDC language.” A GOP Senate staffer reportedly told Terret that they are “just hoping the House can move something, anything, so crypto legislation can survive to the next step. We have options to move forward, but no one wants another failed vote that kills momentum.” Related Reading: Top Crypto Exchanges Made $172 Million From TRUMP Memecoin Listing – Report Meanwhile, the GENIUS Act would remain a standalone bill, despite previous attempts to merge it with the market structure bill. Since it already passed the Senate, the bill only needs to pass the final House vote to head to President Trump’s desk. Despite the legislative uncertainty, the crypto market continues to recover from yesterday’s drop, with Bitcoin (BTC) holding the $119,000 area as support. Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com
The House Oversight and the Senate Banking committees are probing accusations that U.S. regulators blocked crypto insiders from banking.
Republican member and pro-crypto politician Mike Johnson has been re-elected as the speaker of the US House of Representatives sending a wave of excitement across the crypto community. This positive development comes amidst growing doubts over the incoming Donald Trump administration’s willingness to fulfill the President-elect’s crypto manifesto. Related Reading: A ‘Welcome To Washington’ Moment: Crypto […]
Follow Cointelegraph’s live updates on the 2024 US election and its potential impact on crypto regulations, markets and the future of digital assets.
The 2024 United States elections will be held on Nov. 5, as digital asset policy becomes a growing concern among pro-crypto voters.
As part of its coverage of the 2024 US Elections, Cointelegraph asked several congressional candidates for their positions on crypto.
A bipartisan group of US senators has proposed the Content Origin Protection and Integrity from Edited and Deepfake Media Act (COPIED), in a historic action to counteract the growing use of artificial intelligence (AI) deepfakes. Related Reading: Crypto Craze: Republicans See Digital Currency Shaping 2024 Elections — Survey Under direction by Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA), […]
The next two weeks could be decisive for the crypto industry as it faces significant legislative developments in the US Congress. These developments may potentially reshape the regulatory landscape for digital assets in the United States. 3 Major Crypto Legislations Are Up For Vote The community is closely monitoring the Senate’s upcoming vote on the […]
On Tuesday, the crypto industry was shaken after news of the indictment of one of a Bitcoin early investors broke. Per the reports, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) pressed multiple charges against Roger Ver, a controversial figure in the space known as “Bitcoin Jesus.” Experts and figures within the community have expressed their sentiments […]