Circle Internet Group (CRCL) stock price jumps 15% — what’s driving the move after-hours

3 March 2026

New York, March 2, 2026, 18:08 (ET) — After-hours

Circle shares jumped around 15% Monday, last quoted near $96 after hours.
CFO Jeremy Fox-Geen unloaded shares according to a pre-set trading plan, a fresh SEC filing revealed.
Attention remains fixed on rate expectations with the U.S. jobs report due March 6 and the Fed’s meeting coming up later in March.

Circle Internet Group, Inc. shot up roughly 15% Monday, finishing after-hours with shares up 15.3% at $96.14. Regular trading saw a surge, with some 49.6 million shares traded.

That shift puts the spotlight right back on Circle’s main moneymaker: USDC, the stablecoin pegged to the dollar. Last week’s earnings underscored the effect—when USDC in circulation climbs, so does “reserve income,” the interest Circle takes in from the token’s backing assets. “USDC continues scaling rapidly,” Seaport Research Partners analyst Jeff Cantwell said in a note. CEO Jeremy Allaire, for his part, told Reuters he’d welcome “further cuts this year.” Reuters

Circle wrapped up 2025 with $75.3 billion USDC in circulation, a 72% jump from the previous year. Fourth-quarter revenue and reserve income reached $770 million, up 77%. “The fourth quarter marked another step forward in Circle’s mission to build the infrastructure for an open, programmable internet financial system,” CEO Allaire said. Circle

But a recent filing highlighted an insider move as the stock climbed. CFO Jeremy Fox-Geen unloaded 47,908 shares at $90 each on Feb. 26, cashing in roughly $4.3 million. The sale, flagged as part of a Rule 10b5-1 plan—a pre-set arrangement for executive trades—left Fox-Geen with 280,167 shares, according to the Form 4.

On the earnings call, executives laid out their game plan for 2026. Circle is projecting roughly 40% annual growth for USDC over several years and is targeting “other revenue” between $150 million and $170 million in 2026, the transcript shows. Investing.com

Circle’s stock is now a go-to proxy for bets on stablecoins and short-term U.S. rate moves. USDC, which is up against the bigger Tether’s USDT, is sensitive—sentiment can swing quickly if regulators tweak rules on reserve management or redemptions by issuers.

Circle made its public debut in June 2025, setting its IPO price at $31 per share and pulling in roughly $1.05 billion, according to Reuters. Since the listing, shares have bounced around, tracking shifts in crypto sentiment and investor questions about the staying power of reserve income.

Circle didn’t mince words about the risks. In its results filed with the SEC, the company laid out a laundry list: fast redemptions, rivals snapping at its heels, trouble brewing in other stablecoins, and interest rate volatility, to name a few. Circle also noted it plans to file its 2025 annual 10-K with the SEC after the earnings report.

Right now, it’s the tape that’s driving the story. Heading into Tuesday, traders are left wondering if the push from Monday will stick, especially as after-hours liquidity dries up and the hunt for a fresh catalyst kicks in.

Traders are watching two big macro events: the February U.S. Employment Situation report arrives at 8:30 a.m. ET on March 6, followed by the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting set for March 17-18. Circle’s reserve income tracks short-term yields, so changes in rate-cut expectations move the needle.

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Khadija Saeed is a financial markets reporter at TS2.tech. Her coverage ranges from stocks and technology to emerging industries and developments across global markets. She studied economics and finance at the London School of Economics and worked in market research before becoming a financial journalist. Follow Khadija Saeed on Google News.

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