News linked to both this project and an event.
Mizuho analysts stated that if the U.S. crypto market structure bill, the "Clarity Act," is passed, while it may generally benefit the digital asset industry, the long-term impact on Circle could be negative. The reason is that regulatory clarity will attract more large institutions into the stablecoin market, further accelerating stablecoin commodification and eroding the revenue potential of Circle's USDC.Mizuho believes that the primary pressure Circle faces in the near term comes from Open USD. This stablecoin project is backed by a coalition of over 140 financial, technology, and crypto companies, with members including Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, BlackRock, and Coinbase. Unlike Circle's model, which retains approximately 38% of USDC reserve yields, Open USD employs a "pass-through" model, distributing nearly all reserve yields to distribution partners while retaining only a small management fee.Analysts also noted that Coinbase, as the largest distributor of USDC, also supports Open USD. This could give Coinbase stronger bargaining power when renegotiating its revenue-sharing agreement with Circle in the future. The distribution agreement between the two parties could be up for renegotiation as early as next month.
According to CoinDesk, Japanese investment bank Mizuho has downgraded stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL) from "Neutral" to "Underperform," with the price target significantly lowered from $85 to $50. Circle's stock price subsequently fell 0.6% to $62.63. Mizuho analysts pointed out that the OpenUSD stablecoin launched by the Open Standard consortium on June 30 poses a fundamental threat to Circle's business model. Unlike the USDC model, which retains most reserve yield and then shares it with partners such as Coinbase and Binance, OpenUSD charges only a small operating fee and distributes the vast majority of reserve yield to issuers and distributors, which may force Circle's partners to demand a higher revenue share. The consortium has assembled over 140 partners, including Mastercard, Stripe, Coinbase, and BlackRock.
after Open Standard announced the launch of its new stablecoin, Open USD (OUSD), Circle's stock price fell over 16% on Tuesday. The stablecoin is backed by over 140 companies, including Visa, Stripe, Mastercard, BlackRock, and Coinbase, raising market concerns that it could pose competitive pressure on Circle's USDC.However, William Blair analysts believe the sell-off was an overreaction and reiterated an "Outperform" rating on Circle's stock, suggesting the decline may present a buying opportunity. The firm believes that Circle holds a competitive advantage in the stablecoin space due to its first-mover status, deep liquidity, and mature payment infrastructure, positioning it well even against high-profile competitors like OUSD.Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire stated that the company welcomes competition and will continue to expand the USDC ecosystem. Analysts also noted that the overall stablecoin market is still rapidly expanding, and new entrants may not necessarily only eat into USDC's market share but could also drive broader industry adoption.
According to The Block, Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer at Bitwise, noted that three enterprise-grade blockchains—Arc (by Circle), Canton Network, and Tempo (by Stripe)—have collectively raised over $1 billion in funding recently. All three funding rounds occurred after the signing of the GENIUS Act in July 2025. Hougan believes this legislation broke a prior regulatory stalemate that had discouraged institutional capital from entering the space. Hougan identified three key signals: First, all three blockchains prioritize native privacy-preserving transactions as a core design feature, addressing institutions’ need for transaction confidentiality. Second, the implementation of the GENIUS Act has significantly reduced regulatory uncertainty; the next critical variable is the pending Clarity Act, from which stablecoins and tokenization infrastructure stand to benefit. Third, these blockchains are backed by top-tier institutions—including Goldman Sachs, Citadel, BlackRock, Stripe, and Visa—marking a stark contrast to Ethereum and Solana, which emerged from grassroots origins. Hougan stated that his firm’s capital remains primarily allocated to native crypto projects, and he believes these emerging enterprise chains will raise the overall competitive bar and attract additional capital inflows.
According to The Block, Amazon Web Services (AWS) has partnered with Coinbase and Stripe to launch Amazon Bedrock AgentCore Payments, enabling AI agents to conduct transactions using stablecoins. Coinbase stated that developers can build “agent-based payment” solutions using the x402 protocol, allowing AI agents to make micro-payments in USDC. This feature enables AI agents to instantly pay for web content, APIs, MCP servers, and other agents. AWS noted that developers can choose between Coinbase and Stripe wallets and fund those wallets using either stablecoins or fiat currency.
Odaily OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stated at Stripe Sessions that OpenAI aspires to become an infrastructure company that is "permanently low-profit, yet massive and fast-growing," offering products akin to "smart meters" that allow anyone to purchase them to automate businesses, develop products, or embed them into their own services. He compared OpenAI to Stripe, noting that their model is usage-based billing, and as the internet scales, both Stripe and its users benefit.Altman revealed that OpenAI has already signed 20-year contracts for electricity and land to support this goal. He acknowledged that switching costs in AI are low, and the recent massive influx of users from competing programming tools to Codex proves that the smarter AI becomes, the easier it is to switch platforms. He pointed out that while some companies might try to capture the entire industry chain, OpenAI does not plan to do so, believing that models and data centers are a whole, and other companies can build products on top of them.Altman also emphasized that businesses should not overestimate AI's impact on existing business structures. Although AI has changed many existing processes, good products will still survive in the market. He specifically mentioned that Shopify CEO Toby Lütke is the best AI adopter he has ever seen.
According to Fortune, Meta has quietly launched a stablecoin payment feature, offering select creators in Colombia and the Philippines the ability to receive payments in USDC on the Solana and Polygon networks. Creators can enter their third-party wallet addresses into Facebook’s payout platform to withdraw funds. Meta does not provide USDC-to-local-fiat conversion services and partners with Stripe to handle related tax filings. According to Marc Boiron, CEO of Polygon Labs, the initiative is expected to expand to over 160 countries by year-end. This launch comes more than four years after Meta’s Libra project—later renamed Diem—was discontinued in 2022.
According to Cointelegraph, blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis released a report stating that stablecoin-adjusted transaction volume is projected to reach $719 trillion by 2035—marking a substantial increase from $28 trillion in 2025. If two major macro catalysts align, this figure could double further to $15 trillion, surpassing the current annual global cross-border payment volume of approximately $10 trillion. The two catalysts are: (1) the transfer of over $100 trillion in wealth from the Baby Boomer generation to younger, crypto-native generations; and (2) stablecoins fully replacing traditional payment rails as the default payment infrastructure. Rachael Lucas, an analyst at Australian crypto exchange BTC Markets, noted that strategic moves—including Stripe’s acquisition of Bridge and Mastercard’s partnership with BVNK—are concrete steps forward. Coupled with regulatory clarity provided by the GENIUS Act, institutional participation is expected to expand significantly.