Bernstein Sees USDC Entering New Growth Phase With $140 Target

Investment bank Bernstein believes Circle's stablecoin USDC has entered a new growth phase. The bank maintained its outperform view on Circle and set a $140 target price for the company.

Bernstein cited an increase in USDC supply as a key factor supporting this view. Over seven days, USDC supply rose by about $2 billion, reversing a flat or declining trend that had lasted for the past six months. This is seen as a signal of 'digital dollar reflation'.

The bank also highlighted several factors that could support USDC growth over the next 12 months, including resilience in the cryptocurrency market, greater regulatory clarity in the United States, and wider adoption of stablecoins in payments. It added that it was seeing early signs that artificial intelligence agents are using stablecoins for payments.

USDC's position in the market is also shifting. While it remains the second-largest dollar-pegged stablecoin by market capitalisation after Tether's USDt, USDC has narrowed the gap in trading volume and already overtaken USDt on an adjusted basis.