Circle Internet Group Soars on Regulated Infrastructure Play
TD Cowen analyst Bryan Bergin has initiated coverage of Circle Internet Group with a Buy rating and an $82 price target, implying a roughly 31% upside from Circle's recent trading price near $62.61.
The timing is interesting, as Circle's stock has been on a slow decline since its post-IPO peak near $190. Morgan Stanley recently moved in the opposite direction with an Underweight rating.
Bergin's thesis hinges on Circle's transition from a stablecoin company to a broader financial infrastructure business. The numbers backing this narrative are impressive: USDC circulation hit $77 billion by the end of Q1 2026, and on-chain transaction volume reached $21.5 trillion in Q1 2026.
Bergin believes that Circle's fee-based revenue streams, specifically the Circle Payments Network and its Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol, are the growth engines that matter most. These products generate revenue regardless of what the Federal Reserve does with interest rates.