Circle (CRCL) is the most important player in the stablecoin ecosystem, according to investment bank William Blair, which initiated coverage on the company with an “Outperform” rating and a long-term bullish thesis. The firm sees Circle as a central force in the transition from fiat to blockchain-based payments, particularly in cross-border B2B transactions, a market worth as much as $24 trillion, according to the report. The bank’s thesis rests on the belief that stablecoin commerce, led by USDC, will r ...

Key Takeaways Coinbase applied for an OCC charter to grow its crypto custody and related banking services.The move aligns with CEO Brian Armstrong's goal of building an "everything exchange."COIN continues diversifying via Base network, equity index futures, and global expansion.Coinbase Global Inc. (COIN) is intensifying its focus on staying aligned with CEO Brian Armstrong’s broader vision of becoming the industry’s premier “everything exchange.” In its recent initiative, the crypto leader applied for the ...

U.S. bank Citizens began coverage of Circle Internet (CRCL) with a market perform rating, noting that while the company is poised to capitalize on stablecoin growth, its valuation already captures much of the upside. Circle, issuer of the second-largest stablecoin, the dollar-pegged USDC, and euro-pegged EURC, has built a broad infrastructure suite, including a payments network, cross-chain protocol and programmable wallets. It is working on Arc, a planned layer-1 blockchain, that Citizens sees as central ...

Circle, the issuer behind $74 billion worth of USDC stablecoins, is exploring the possibility of enabling reversible transactions, a significant shift that aims to bring blockchain payments in line with traditional finance standards. Key Takeaways: Circle is considering reversible USDC transactions to address fraud and align more closely with traditional finance. Its new blockchain, Arc, targets institutional use but faces criticism for being overly centralized. As stablecoins gain political support, ...

RT Arc (@arc)Join our first Space on the design decisions and vision behind Arc.@chandhok, Circle Chief Product & Technology Officer@0xrachelita, Arc, VP of Product@gordonliao, Arc, Head of ResearchLive on 𝕏, on Sep 25 at 3PM ETDrop your questions belowhttps://t.co/p9EBtiwt00 ...

Core Insights - Circle Internet (CRCL) and IREN Limited (IREN) are gaining traction in the cryptocurrency sector, with Circle focusing on the USDC stablecoin and IREN being a major bitcoin miner [1][2] - The regulatory environment and increasing demand for stablecoins like USDC are favorable for Circle, while IREN benefits from its low-cost bitcoin mining and expanding AI Cloud revenues [18] Group 1: Circle Internet (CRCL) - Circle's USDC stablecoin circulation reached $72.36 billion as of September 11, up from $65.2 billion on August 10, 2025, and $61.3 billion at the end of Q2 2025 [2][8] - The on-chain transaction volume for USDC grew 5.4 times year-over-year to nearly $6 trillion in Q2 2025, with meaningful wallets increasing by 68% year-over-year [2][5] - Circle launched the Circle Payments Network in May, with over 100 institutions in the pipeline, and introduced Circle Gateway for cross-chain USDC usage [3][4] - Total revenues and reserve income for Circle in Q2 2025 were $658.1 million, a 53% increase year-over-year, with a consensus estimate of $686.4 million for Q3 2025 [5][10] - The consensus loss estimate for Circle in 2025 is $2.53 per share, widening from a previous estimate of $0.33 [12] Group 2: IREN Limited (IREN) - IREN is projected to achieve $1.25 billion in annualized revenues, with approximately $1 billion from bitcoin mining and $200-$250 million from AI Cloud by December 2025 [6][8] - The company plans to scale its GPU count from 1.9k to 10.9k, including various models of NVIDIA GPUs [6][7] - IREN operates 810 MW of data centers, with contracted grid-connected power increasing to 2,910 MW, indicating over 35% growth [9] - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for IREN's fiscal 2026 revenues is $1.13 billion, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 120.93% [10] - IREN shares surged 83.8% in the past month, significantly outperforming Circle's 1.9% gain [8][13]

Core Insights - A new competitive landscape is emerging in the blockchain space for institutional money and stablecoins, with Alphabet's Google Cloud Universal Ledger (GCUL), Stripe's Tempo, and Circle's Arc targeting similar financial use cases as Ripple's XRP [5][10] - The total market for stablecoins has reached $280.9 billion, growing by 5.3% in the last 30 days, indicating a rapidly expanding sector [6] - XRP's investment thesis is broader than just stablecoin transactions, as it includes features for regulated money movement and tokenized asset management [11][12] Company Summaries - **Alphabet (Google Cloud)**: The GCUL aims to provide a neutral platform for managing tokenized assets and wholesale payments, leveraging Alphabet's financial strength [1][5] - **Stripe**: Tempo is a high-throughput Layer-1 chain designed for stablecoin payments and remittances, compatible with the Ethereum virtual machine, which could attract developers from the DeFi ecosystem [2][5] - **Circle**: Arc is a Layer-1 chain where fees are paid in USDC, targeting transaction settlement and programmable money, benefiting from Circle's established brand in the stablecoin market [3][5] Competitive Analysis - The emergence of GCUL, Tempo, and Arc poses a potential threat to XRP by redirecting capital flows that would have otherwise supported XRP's growth [5][10] - XRP's unique features, such as low transaction fees, fast transaction finality, and built-in decentralized exchange capabilities, may provide a competitive edge over the new entrants [8][9] - The competition could cap XRP's growth potential, but the overall market for stablecoins is large enough to accommodate multiple players [10][11]

Group 1 - Atlassian has agreed to acquire developer intelligence platform DX for approximately $1 billion in cash and restricted stock to enhance customer experience by providing insights into AI investments [1][2] - The acquisition aligns with the trend of enterprises increasing funding in AI capabilities for innovation, operational efficiency, and competitive advantage [1] - DX is utilized by companies to collect and analyze data on engineering workflows, measure productivity, and track the adoption and impact of AI tools [2] Group 2 - Atlassian previously announced a $610 million deal to acquire The Browser Company, which develops AI-powered browsers [2] - The CEO of Atlassian stated that the acquisition aims to help over 300,000 customers assess their investments in the AI era [3] - The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of fiscal 2026 and will not affect Atlassian's previously issued fiscal 2027 adjusted operating margin target [3]

Group 1 - The article emphasizes the importance of maintaining caution and a sober approach when investing in XRP, despite its improving narrative [2][4] - XRP faces significant competition from well-capitalized alternatives in the financial sector, which could impact its market share [4][6] - Ethereum is highlighted as a major competitor due to its established role in asset tokenization and decentralized finance, attracting traditional financial institutions [5][7] Group 2 - Emerging payment and stablecoin chains, such as Circle Internet Group's Arc and Stripe's Tempo, pose potential long-term threats to XRP [6] - The total addressable market for XRP remains large, but increasing competition from both established and new entrants could hinder its growth [7][8] - XRP's stablecoin segment is particularly lagging, with new challengers rapidly emerging to target its core areas [8]

We had the Circle CTO on this week to discuss their new chain Arc, why they built it as an L1 vs. an L2, the future of USDC on Hyperliquid, and his vision for Circle as a stablecoin leader.Good for those trying to understand enterprise "payments chains"https://t.co/ul94FKIYpX ...