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Investing.com - William Blair initiated coverage on Circle (OTC:CRLC) with an Outperform rating, citing the company’s position as the issuer of USDC, the second-largest stablecoin by market capitalization.
The research firm expects USDC to "catalyze a seismic shift in cross-border B2B finance," with Circle being the primary beneficiary of stablecoin commercialization beyond the crypto ecosystem. Circle’s current business model generates yield from USDC and distributes a portion as fees to partners.
William Blair highlighted Circle’s profitable growth alongside USDC market capitalization and noted the company’s development of stablecoin infrastructure, including the Circle Payment Network and Arc, a purpose-built layer 1 blockchain to support commerce.
The GENIUS Act was identified as clarifying the U.S. regulatory landscape, which the firm considers "probably the most important USDC adoption catalyst." However, William Blair acknowledged potential adoption delays due to industry fragmentation, early-stage infrastructure, lingering regulatory questions, and corporate inertia.
Circle shares currently trade at 57 times William Blair’s estimated 2026 EBITDA, nearly double the valuation of comparable fintech companies, but the firm believes the stock will "grow into its valuation as USDC commercialization accelerates."
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