Bernstein analysts said they expect USDC to enter a growth cycle and set a $140 price target for Circle, implying about 60% upside from current levels.

USDC supply rose roughly $2 billion in seven days, ending a six‑month period of stagnant growth.

The firm maintained an Outperform rating on Circle (CRCL) and noted that the next phase of stablecoin growth could be driven by renewed crypto market momentum, clearer U.S. regulatory clarity, tokenized capital markets and expanding use of stablecoins for payments, including transactions by artificial intelligence agents.

Circle, the second‑largest dollar‑backed stablecoin by market capitalization, saw its share of adjusted stablecoin transaction volume increase from about 40% in 2025 to over 60% in 2026, surpassing Tether’s USDT by that measure.

Circle reported $701 million in revenue and $48 million in net income in its latest quarter, up from the prior year, and its shares have risen about 40% over the past month after a June 2025 IPO that raised roughly $1.1 billion at a $31 price.