The stablecoin issuer has outpaced USDC’s $60 billion market cap after CRCL shares jumped 13% on the day.
Stablecoin issuer Circle’s market capitalization on Monday surpassed the current circulating market cap of its stablecoin, USD Coin (USDC).
At the time of publishing, Circle (CRCL) – which went live on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) earlier this month – is currently trading at $270.85, up 13% on the day. The rally has pushed the firm’s valuation up to roughly $66 billion, according to Yahoo Finance.
Meanwhile, its stablecoin USDC, which is pegged to the U.S. dollar, currently boasts a market capitalization of $60 billion, according to DeFiLlama data. USDC is the second-largest stablecoin behind Tether’s USDT, which commands a market cap of nearly $157 billion and a 62% market share.
The sharp rise in Circle’s stock indicates that investors are confident not only in USDC but also in Circle’s broader ecosystem, which encompasses tokenization technology, managing corporate funds, and international payments.
“From my perspective, the stock market value of Circle isn’t just based on the USDC issuance but on Circle’s fit in a regulated stablecoin ecosystem, yield-bearing reserve model, and institutional-grade payment infrastructure,” Chuck Zhang, CFO of PolyFlow, a PayFi protocol linking Real World Assets with DeFi, told The Defiant.
Popular crypto investor and commentator Leo Lanza (@l3olanza) stated on X (formerly Twitter) that Circle’s market value surpassing USDC’s indicates that investors anticipate significant changes soon, such as new stablecoin regulations and substantial capital flowing into blockchain networks.
“Circle’s market cap just flipped the total value of USDC in circulation. The market knows what’s coming: GENIUS Act, Stablecoin boom, Trillions flowing on-chain,” he wrote. “Investors are front-running the tokenized dollar supercycle —they just haven’t realized yet… It all runs on Ethereum.”
Other market watchers also expressed enthusiasm for Circle. “Circle is on an absolute tear,” said one of the co-hosts of the crypto YouTube show The Rollup, via X. “Its market cap now has outpaced the total supply of USDC, which is crazy… Wall Street is really jumping to get exposure to these assets.”
They explained that other stablecoin firms, such as Paxos, Plasma, Stable, and Maple Finance, could also benefit from the increased investor attention following Circle’s “amazing run.”
Circle’s growth follows its initial public offering (IPO) on June 5, which wildly surpassed expectations, suggesting its shares were underpriced, The Defiant previously reported.
The company priced its CRCL stock at $31, but it opened at $69 and closed above $83 on its first day, up 163%. The surge meant Circle raised $1.1 billion, but left nearly $2 billion on the table by not pricing its shares higher.
