NEW YORK, June 30, 2026, 13:05 EDT
- Circle Internet Group NYSE:CRCL dropped 15.0% to $64.55 around midday, putting its market cap close to $17.2 billion.
- Open Standard, a consortium with Visa NYSE:V, Mastercard NYSE:MA and Coinbase Global NASDAQ:COIN, is planning a dollar stablecoin. The group says minting and redemption will be free, and reserve earnings will be shared.
- BNY (NYSE:BNY) revealed its USDC custody expansion a day before, but the real story Tuesday was the fight over who gets stablecoin reserve income.
Circle Internet Group NYSE:CRCL dropped sharply Tuesday after the company launched a new Open USD stablecoin plan that hit the main spot investors watch—how reserve earnings will be split.
Open Standard plans to launch Open USD later this year, Reuters said, with backing from more than 140 firms including Visa NYSE:V, Mastercard NYSE:MA and Coinbase Global NASDAQ:COIN. Open USD will give businesses free minting and redemption with no caps on volume, and the group will share reserve profits with partners after a management fee.
Open Standard founding CEO Zach Abrams said firms want something “open, low-cost.” Carolyn Weinberg, chief product and innovation officer at BNY, said “neutral governance and shared economics” could support the next wave of digital-asset expansion. Reuters
The move ran opposite to Monday’s Circle-positive headlines. BNY said USDC is set to be the first stablecoin on its Digital Asset Custody platform, letting clients store, transfer, mint, and burn USDC. Weinberg said institutions are looking for systems that work “across traditional and blockchain-based systems.” Circle’s chief commercial officer Kash Razzaghi said the arrangement “gives BNY clients connectivity between onchain and traditional assets.” Circle
At midday, stablecoin issuers fell, but payment networks and broad funds traded up.
| Asset | Google Finance ticker | Midday move | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Circle Internet Group | NYSE:CRCL | fell 15.0% | $64.55 |
| Coinbase Global | NASDAQ:COIN | dropped 4.2% | $145.23 |
| Robinhood Markets | NASDAQ:HOOD | slipped 0.7% | $101.15 |
| Visa | NYSE:V | edged up 0.4% | $342.98 |
| Mastercard | NYSE:MA | added 0.3% | $511.37 |
| BNY | NYSE:BNY | rose 1.2% | $145.58 |
| SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust | NYSEARCA:SPY | was up 0.8% | $746.78 |
| Invesco QQQ Trust | NASDAQ:QQQ | gained 1.6% | $736.01 |
| Bitcoin | BTC | lost 2.7% | $58,427 |
At Circle’s $17.19 billion market value and with $73.6 billion USDC in circulation as of June 25, the company was valued at about 23 cents for every dollar of USDC outstanding. That isn’t the same as a claim on reserve assets. Circle says USDC is backed by cash and cash-equivalent assets held for holders. The 23-cent ratio is just an equity metric showing how much investors pay per dollar of stablecoin issued.
Circle posted $694 million in total revenue and reserve income in Q1, according to the company. Distribution, transaction and other costs hit $407 million, which is about 59% of those revenues. The high cost base explains why a shared-economics competitor could matter.
| Circle metric | Q1 2026 | Current stock math |
|---|---|---|
| Total revenue and reserve income | $694 million | 6.2x annualized Q1 |
| Reserve income | $653 million | Big piece of revenue |
| Distribution, transaction and other costs | $407 million | 59% of revenue and reserve income |
| Revenue less those costs | $287 million | 15.0x annualized Q1 |
| Adjusted EBITDA | $151 million | 28.5x annualized Q1 |
This is important since Circle’s stock depends on more than just stablecoin adoption. It’s also about how much reserve income Circle gets to keep after paying out partners, exchanges, and payment providers. Open USD offers to share reserve profits with its partners, which goes straight at Circle’s slice—more than a rival stablecoin with weaker distribution.
Circle told investors it’s targeting a 40% compound annual growth rate for USDC in circulation over several years and looking to keep its revenue-less-distribution-costs margin between 38% and 40% in 2026. The company’s goals rest on USDC supply gains and margin management rather than just more bank partners.
Circle said in its Q1 report that tougher competition and worse distribution deals may weigh on USDC usage and results. Around 12:50 p.m. EDT, Circle was trading 35 cents over its intraday low.
