NEW YORK, March 25, 2026, 09:11 EDT
- Circle shares ended Tuesday at $101.17, dropping 20.1% as newly released Senate reports on stablecoin rewards put pressure on crypto-related stocks.
- The updated Clarity Act would block interest-style payments just for holding stablecoins, though it carves out exceptions for certain activity-based rewards.
- Coinbase shares dropped, mirroring the decline at Circle, as competitor Tether announced it brought on a Big Four auditor for USDT.
Circle Internet Group looked to regain its footing Wednesday morning. Shares of CRCL slid to $98.31 before settling at $101.17 on Tuesday—marking their steepest single-day fall since the listing. The stock ticked up a bit in premarket after the hit.
Circle’s listing snaps a milestone: it’s the first big stablecoin issuer to go public in the U.S., which hands investors a direct look at a business long pegged to profit from regulatory clarity. Stablecoins, built to track a fixed value—typically one U.S. dollar—have USDC as their number two by market size, just behind Tether’s USDT.
The latest Senate draft shook things up. On Tuesday, crypto stocks slid after new details emerged about a Clarity Act compromise—one that blocks interest-like payments for just holding stablecoins, though it still allows certain rewards tied to activity. That particular sticking point has kept the bill in limbo for months.
Shares of Coinbase, the largest crypto exchange in the U.S. and a key player in distributing USDC, slid 9.8% on Tuesday. Traders responded to the same theme, pricing in risks that until recently looked like policy support. Suddenly, what had been considered a boost for the company turned into concerns about customer growth.
Clear Street stayed unfazed. Analyst Owen Lau, as cited by Barron’s, reiterated his Buy rating and $152 target, saying the proposal wasn’t unexpected and continued to offer incentives for actually putting USDC to use instead of just holding it.
Circle turned in a solid performance. Last month, the company topped Q4 estimates, with USDC circulation jumping 72% to $75.3 billion and reserve income reaching $733 million. Seaport Research Partners’ Jeff Cantwell pointed to USDC “scaling rapidly” as the main story. CEO Jeremy Allaire told Reuters he’d see lower rates as “welcome” if they pushed adoption faster. Reuters
Circle kept its foot on the gas Tuesday, rolling out a new partnership with Sasai Fintech aimed at broadening USDC’s reach across Africa. Strive Masiyiwa, Cassava Technologies’ founder and executive chairman, called the effort a way to “drive financial inclusion” and unlock new possibilities for both businesses and consumers. Circle
The squeeze isn’t just on one front. On Tuesday, Tether—the company behind the bigger USDT token—announced it has brought in a Big Four accounting firm for what would be its inaugural full independent audit. That move ramps up the transparency race, landing just as Circle’s stock faced its own bout of pressure.
Still, for bulls, it all comes down to whether lawmakers in Washington can get a bill through. Banks are pushing for stricter caps. Divisions over anti-money-laundering and ethics measures remain unresolved in Congress. Reuters flagged the shrinking window earlier this month—Adrian Wall at the Digital Sovereignty Alliance warned that missing a July deadline would slam the door shut on legislation.
Circle priced its IPO at $31 a share in June 2025, then wrapped up its debut session at $83.23. The stock—despite Tuesday’s pullback—continues to trade far above that original offer, yet this latest move underscored just how closely CRCL’s fortunes track U.S. crypto policy shifts.
