Bernstein Sees 59% Upside for Circle Even Without Clarity Act Passage

Wall Street analysts say Circle’s growth story doesn’t depend on Congress passing new stablecoin legislation, keeping their bullish outlook intact regardless of what happens in the Senate next month.

Bernstein Maintains $140 Price Target

Bernstein kept its Outperform rating and $140 price target on Circle Internet Group after shares jumped more than 5% Friday to close at $87.98, implying roughly 59% upside from current levels. Analysts led by Gautam Chhugani said both bitcoin and stablecoins are benefiting from a broader shift in markets, with bitcoin drawing renewed demand as a hard asset and stablecoins absorbing more Treasury bill supply.

USDC Supply Rebounds After Months of Stagnation

Circle’s USDC added about $1.7 billion in supply over the past week, breaking nearly six months of sideways movement. The stablecoin is now widely used as collateral across decentralized finance, tokenized equities, real-world-asset futures and prediction markets. Circle also holds around 80% of decentralized exchange trading and finance volumes, while its Agent Stack platform, launched in May, hosts more than 900 paid services with 99% of agent-payment volume settling in USDC.

Why the Clarity Act Doesn’t Change the Outlook

Bernstein said its thesis holds whether or not the Senate passes the Clarity Act in its September 15 vote, noting adjusted stablecoin transaction volume is tracking near $17 trillion annualized this year, up about 60% from last year.