Shares of Coinbase stock remain roughly 60% below their July 2025 peak of $445, even after a rebound in March.
Circle defends its hands-off approach to freezing funds as critics point to hundreds of millions in losses tied to delayed action.
Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire emphasized that the stablecoin issuer has a "very clear performance obligation" to act under the law.
Several major investment firms have preemptively downgraded Coinbase and other platforms as a sharp drop in trading activity and falling token prices threaten to derail upcoming first-quarter earnings results.
Eased Middle East tensions pushed crypto prices and U.S. stocks sizable hjigher.
The platform allows PSPs, fintechs, and banks benefit from the efficiency of using stablecoins without having to hold USDC.
At mainnet launch, Arc will introduce a post-quantum signature scheme, which enables users to create quantum-resistant wallets.
Circle’s Arc blockchain said users will be able to create wallets that withstand future quantum computer attacks from day one.
Prominent blockchain sleuth ZachXBT alleged faster action by Circle could have limited crypto losses, but freezing asset without legal authorization carries legal risks.
Stablecoin issuer Circle is facing mounting scrutiny from blockchain researchers after millions of USD Coin (USDC) were stolen and flowed unimpeded through its proprietary bridge during the $285 million exploit of the Solana-based Drift Protocol. The inaction during the April 1 attack, which is now the largest decentralized finance (DeFi) hack of 2026, stands in […]
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ZachXBT cites over a dozen cases involving over $420 million, the most recent being the Drift Protocol exploit worth more than $280 million.
Circle's bitcoin payments app Circle Pay was sunsetted in 2019 as the firm pivoted to focus solely on stablecoins.
The proposed restriction on yield would shift value toward regulated players and away from decentralized finance' tokens, 10x Research's Markus Thielen said.
Circle, the issuer of USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin, saw its stock plunge 20% this week, erasing $5 billion in market capitalization in its steepest intraday drop since going public. The sell-off happened on the same day Tether announced it had secured a ‘Big Four' accounting firm to undertake a full audit of USDT. According to […]
The post A new US rule wiped $5B off Circle — but it may hurt Coinbase more appeared first on CryptoSlate.
USDC adoption hinges on volume, not circulation, the bank said
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
Circle shares slumped on Tuesday (nearly 20%) after U.S. lawmakers advanced the Clarity Act. This decline has been linked to the Clarity Act draft language that suggests it would curb interest paid on crypto stablecoin holdings. Related Reading: 3 Big Hyperliquid News You Might Have Missed This Week A Key Crypto-Basics Misunderstanding The reason of the sudden drop? The market is misunderstanding the legislation, analyst Gautam Chhugani and his three Bernstein colleagues said in an investor note shared with DL News. “The market is conflating who earns yield with who distributes yield”, they said. It is no secret that the market is moved by the heightened emotional responses of investors, reacting to real world events such as a geopolitical crisis or a change in the legislation that could affect their positions. However, investors would do well going back to the fundamentals and revisiting the basic mechanics at play before getting swept up in Clarity‑Act panic. A stablecoin issuer and a stablecoin distributer are not the same thing: a stablecoin issuer is the entity that creates the token and manages the reserves behind it, while a stablecoin distributor is the platform or intermediary that gets that token into users’ hands and often hosts their balances. Circle is the company that issues the USDC, not the one that distributes it: that’s what platforms such as Coinbase do. Today's chart shows Circle shares slightly recovered after briefly dropping under $100 on Tuesday. Source: TradingView The Clarity Act’s language specifies supervision on how crypto tokens are circulated and distributed, not on the entities that create or issue them. This means lawmakers are focusing on the activities around moving stablecoins to end users, such as platforms offering them, intermediaries marketing yield, and programs that pay interest on balances, rather than directly imposing new rules on the companies that mint the tokens and manage reserves. Related Reading: Bitcoin Holds $70K – Is The High‑Beta Era Over? Stablecoins: A Central Pillar It is worth noting that investor’s anxiety over the U.S. stablecoin policy and how regulators might treat centralized issuers post-election is justified. The stablecoin sector has become a central pillar of crypto liquidity: in 2025, dollar‑pegged tokens settled over 30 trillion dollars on‑chain, and USDC alone processed roughly 18 trillion dollars in transactions —close to half of all stablecoin volume despite representing under a third of total supply. Circle’s own and third‑party estimates say USDC’s share of total stablecoin transaction volume was around 45–50% in late 2025, even though its circulation was under one‑third of total stablecoin supply. If Bernstein’s view holds, Circle-related assets might see a rebound as regulatory clarity improves. BTC's price is on the highs $71k on the daily chart. Source: BTCUSDC on Tradingview Cover image from Perplexity, BTCUSDC chart from Tradingview
The latest draft of the CLARITY Act hit both stocks, but one analyst says the bill could ultimately shift bargaining power toward Circle and away from Coinbase.
Circle shares fell about 20% on Tuesday amid reports that draft provisions in the CLARITY Act could limit rewards.
Bitget Wallet launched the Onchain Payments Matrix, connecting Ripple, Mastercard, and Tether within a global stablecoin payments network.
Circle’s sharp stock drop may be overdone, Bernstein says, arguing investors are misinterpreting stablecoin yield restrictions.
Circle Internet Financial, the issuer behind the USDC stablecoin — the second-largest dollar-pegged cryptocurrency — saw its stock, CRCL, tumble 22% on Tuesday to $98 as lawmakers reportedly moved to tighten rules around stablecoin yields. The selloff followed reports that a revised draft of the Senate Banking Committee’s CLARITY Act would broadly prohibit platforms from offering yield “directly or indirectly” for holding stablecoins or assets that function like bank deposits. Circle Revenue Model At Risk? The proposed restriction, reported by Crypto in America journalist Eleanor Terrett, is written to cover digital-asset service providers and their affiliates — exchanges, brokers, and similar firms — in an effort to close potential workarounds. Under the draft language, firms would be barred from providing anything “economically or functionally equivalent” to interest on stablecoin holdings. Related Reading: Bitcoin Expert Predicts ‘Golden Entry Window’ For Next Bull Market In October 2026 If they were to materialize over the long term, the implications for Circle would be immediate and substantial. Circle derives approximately 96% of its revenue from interest earned on USDC reserve assets. If platforms are prevented from offering yield or if demand for USDC softens because consumers and institutions cannot earn returns, Circle’s core revenue stream could be materially weakened. The fallout was not limited to Circle. Coinbase (COIN), the largest US-listed crypto exchange, also experienced significant pressure, trading down roughly 21% to about $179 at the time of writing. Tether’s Big‑Four Audit Move In a Tuesday post on the social media platform X, Terrett also pointed out that Tether’s latest move may have amplified the crash in Circle’s stock. Circle’s competitor recently announced that it had hired a Big Four accounting firm to audit its USDT reserves for the first time. Related Reading: Strategy Discloses $42 Billion Fundraising Plan To Hit 1 Million Bitcoin Target By End Of 2026 Tether framed the engagement as a major step toward enhanced transparency and regulatory readiness, saying the audit would provide “deep assurance that USDT is fully backed, highly liquid, and operated with world-class risk management.” Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com
The USDC stablecoin issuer faced headwinds on Tuesday amid developing stablecon legislation that could dent future revenue.
The latest version of the Clarity Act is pressuring stocks as it would restrict stablecoin rewards.
Market participants are now pricing in rate hikes, and it could be weighing on risk assets.
Circle's response leans into interoperability, hinting that EU markets may need to accommodate non-euro stablecoins to stay competitive.
Bernstein analysts named Circle and Coinbase as top stablecoin proxies, citing USDC adoption and early agentic machine-payment opportunities.
Native USDC could give traders and DeFi apps on Injective a mainstream dollar-denominated asset for collateral, liquidity and settlement.
Circle, the firm behind the widely-used stablecoin USDC, has seen its stock, trading under the ticker CRCL, rise above $123 for the first time since October of last year. This surge was accompanied by a new upgrade from Clear Street, which upgraded Circle’s stock from a “Hold” to a “Buy” and raised its price target from $92 to $136 in a research note released on Monday. USDC Adoption Soars Amid Increased Demand Since the beginning of February, adoption of Circle’s USDC stablecoin has increased significantly, indicating a growing interest from financial institutions and consumers in stablecoins. This uptick contributed to a 7.5% jump in Circle’s stock price on Monday, currently trading at around $123 at the time of writing. Year-to-date, Circle shares have climbed 46%, reflecting a positive trend in the company’s performance. Related Reading: Bitcoin Price Hits $74K As Geopolitical Tensions Spike, Is BTC Poised For a Fresh Leg Down? Several factors appear to be fueling this rally. According to a recent report from Barron’s, the ongoing conflict in Iran has disrupted banking and exchanges in the Middle East, which may have contributed to the increasing use of USDC for remittances and cross-border transactions. Clear Street analyst Owen Lau noted that during this volatile period, the market capitalization of USDC continued to rise, suggesting that the demand was driven primarily by its practical utility rather than speculative investment. The report also highlights a growing trend where financial institutions are tokenizing funds—digitizing these assets to trade on blockchain networks. Although USDC is not the sole settlement currency for such platforms, its regulatory compliance and wide compatibility make it an attractive option. Additionally, USDC is gaining traction in prediction markets, particularly with Polymarket’s anticipated expansion into the US, which could further boost demand as numerous trades in these markets are settled in USDC. Regulatory Clarity Seen As Key Driver For Circle Another significant development that Circle investors are optimistic about is the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in facilitating transactions. As AI agents increasingly perform tasks like booking travel and executing contracts independently, the need for digital wallets capable of instant settlement will grow. Circle’s Arc blockchain protocol is being designed to serve as an infrastructure to support these types of automated payments, further enhancing its utility in the financial ecosystem. Lau emphasized a critical distinction that investors often overlook: the performance of speculative crypto assets is not necessarily indicative of the adoption trajectory for payment stablecoins. “A central misperception among investors is conflating the fortunes of speculative crypto assets with the adoption trajectory of payment stablecoins,” he stated. Related Reading: Analyst Predicts Dogecoin Price Will ‘Pump Hard’ Soon, Here’s Why The report asserts that regulatory clarity has the potential to drive even more institutional investment into digital assets. Currently, there is a debate within the banking sector and the crypto industry concerning whether the CLARITY Act should permit stablecoin holders to earn yields on their deposits. With calls from President Trump for various stakeholders to reach a compromise, Clear Street anticipates that the CLARITY Act may pass before the summer ends, which could further contribute to the stock’s positive performance along with broader crypto prices. “Our conversations with institutional allocators consistently highlight regulatory uncertainty as the primary barrier to increasing crypto exposure,” Lau concluded. Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com
The stablecoin issuer has rallied as analysts point to growing demand for USDC, a higher interest-rate environment and the rapid expansion of tokenized assets.