Circle shares surge as Bernstein sees upside from stablecoin adoption

Shares of the stablecoin issuer have seemingly decoupled from the broader crypto market, gaining 49% this year and doubling since early February.

Circle Internet Financial is among Wall Street’s best-performing stocks so far in 2026, and analysts at Bernstein believe the rally could continue as stablecoin adoption accelerates.

In a recent note to clients, Bernstein reiterated its “Outperform” rating on CRCL stock and set a $190 price target, which typically reflects analysts’ expectations for a stock over the next 12 months.

Despite a volatile end to 2025, Circle shares appear to have decoupled from the broader cryptocurrency market, which has been under pressure since October following a major leveraged liquidation event.

Since bottoming near $50 a share in early February, the share price has more than doubled. The shares closed Tuesday at $118.17, up 5.7%, giving the company a market capitalization of roughly $30.3 billion.

Circle shares are now up about 49% year to date, outperforming a flat S&P 500 index and a roughly 1% decline in the Nasdaq 100 index over the same period.

Based on Bernstein’s price target, Circle shares still have 60% upside from current levels.

Related: Circle moves toward privacy-focused stablecoin with USDCx project

Bernstein’s bullish outlook for Circle is largely tied to the rapid adoption of stablecoins, particularly as businesses gain clearer rules for using digital dollars in the United States.

That clarity came with the GENIUS Act, passed in 2025, which established a federal regulatory framework for stablecoins. The law set standards for reserve backing, disclosures and oversight, giving companies clearer guidelines for issuing and using dollar-pegged tokens.

Circle stands to benefit directly from that shift. Its USDC (USDC) stablecoin is the world’s second-largest, with roughly $78 billion in circulation, accounting for about one-quarter of the global stablecoin market, according to DeFiLlama.

Circle has also built credibility among traditional financial institutions. The company went public in 2025 and works with several major Wall Street companies.

BlackRock manages the Circle Reserve Fund that holds much of USDC’s backing assets, while BNY Mellon serves as a primary custodian for those reserves. Circle has also attracted investments from major institutions, including Fidelity and Goldman Sachs, reflecting growing interest in stablecoin infrastructure from traditional finance.

Related: Crypto’s 2026 investment playbook: Bitcoin, stablecoin infrastructure, tokenized assets

Source: CoinTelegraph