Odaily News USDC and the Circle Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP) are set to launch on Morph. USDC will be issued on Morph by Circle's regulated affiliates to serve as the network's dollar-denominated settlement asset, providing a more consistent foundation for dollar settlement in payment applications.
CCTP will support the transfer of USDC between supported blockchains via a burn-and-mint mechanism. USDC is burned on the source chain and natively minted on the destination chain, thereby maintaining a 1:1 supply consistency and standardized settlement behavior. Applications can choose between Standard Transfer or Fast Transfer modes based on their needs.
Morph stated that USDC and CCTP will support dollar settlement and cross-chain fund orchestration in scenarios such as crypto cards, cross-border remittances, payment gateways, as well as DeFi and trading. This will work in conjunction with Morph's $150 million Payment Accelerator program to advance its positioning as a payment settlement layer.
Odaily News Stablecoin issuer Circle's stock price once climbed above $90, hitting a new high since last November, before retreating to around $87. The company's previously released fourth-quarter results exceeded market expectations, driving the stock price to accumulate a gain of approximately 30% since the earnings report.
Bernstein analysts maintained their "Outperform" rating on Circle and set a price target of $190, believing the company's performance indicates a growth trend that is "clearly distinct from the crypto market." The report points out that Circle's expansion in the infrastructure sector is bringing new revenue streams with higher profit margins, rather than relying solely on stablecoin reserve income.
Analysts stated that Circle's transaction-related revenue continues to grow, including blockchain rewards earned as a super-validator on the Canton Network. Meanwhile, the proportion of USDC directly custodied on Circle's platform has risen to 17% of the total supply, up from 14% in the previous quarter. The company expects USDC circulation to maintain an annual growth rate of approximately 40% in the future and anticipates that other business revenues, excluding reserve income, will reach about $170 million in 2026, higher than the roughly $110 million expected for 2025.
Bernstein is also optimistic about Circle's expansion into new product areas, including the Arc platform, the Circle Payments Network, and "automated payment" capabilities for AI agents.
At the same time, Mizuho analysts noted that as stablecoins find increased application in new scenarios such as prediction markets, for example on the Polymarket platform, Circle's revenue structure is expected to become further diversified. Overall, market focus is gradually shifting towards whether Circle can establish a more balanced revenue source structure during the expansion of the stablecoin ecosystem.
Odaily News According to data from msx.com, as the U.S. stock market opened, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.35%, the S&P 500 index fell 0.04%, and the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.28%. Crypto-related stocks showed mixed performance: ETHZilla fell 1.58%, Circle fell 1.97%, Bit Digital fell 0.95%, Hut 8 rose 1.63%, and Coinbase fell 0.82%.
It is reported that msx.com is a decentralized RWA trading platform that has cumulatively listed hundreds of RWA tokens, covering U.S. stocks and ETF token targets such as AAPL, AMZN, GOOGL, META, MSFT, NFLX, and NVDA.
Odaily News Bernstein pointed out that Circle is no longer viewed merely as a proxy investment vehicle for crypto assets but has transformed into a fintech infrastructure service provider, reflecting a profound shift in the company's business positioning.
According to Circle's Q4 2025 financial report, the company's revenue achieved significant growth—total revenue for the full fourth quarter reached approximately $770 million, a surge of 77% compared to the same period last year. Company CEO Jeremy Allaire stated during the earnings call that we are currently in the early stages of a fundamental transformation in how the global economic system operates, and the future economic system will be more internet-native and highly automated.
Bernstein's analyst team believes that Circle will play a key role in this evolution and, in their latest research report, reaffirmed their "Outperform" rating and $190 price target for the company, suggesting there is still significant upside potential for its stock price.
Analyst Gautam Chhugani and his colleagues noted in the report that Circle's Q4 performance clearly diverged from the overall crypto market trend, emphasizing that the company is evolving towards becoming a core internet infrastructure provider, rather than being solely a stablecoin or crypto token business. (Dlnews)
Odaily News 10x Research posted an analysis on X platform, pointing out that the core driver of Circle's stock price surge yesterday was not the earnings report data itself, but rather the market positioning structure. This structure was more likely to trigger a high-probability short-covering rally rather than a simple fundamental revaluation. It is reported that a hedge fund had established a large short position before the earnings release. However, as Circle's stock price soared in a single day, triggering a severe short squeeze, the hedge fund incurred a loss of approximately $500 million in one day. 10x Research added that this round of intense volatility not only affected Circle but also spilled over to Coinbase and Bitcoin. Although Circle was a clear bullish target, the magnitude of the overall market move was primarily driven by an imbalance in the overall positioning structure of the crypto market. New market catalysts may be imminent and could reshape the market narrative, after which the market's trading logic may revert back to fundamentals.
