Wall Street Analyst Bullish on Circle and USDC’s Stablecoin Market Leadership

JCB is Japan’s largest credit card network, with about 40 million merchants worldwide, while Circle issues the U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin USDC. Since Japan amended its Payment Services Act in 2023 to establish a legal framework for stablecoins, regulators and businesses have continued working to integrate the tokens into everyday commerce. A partnership between a traditional card network and a stablecoin issuer could bring stablecoin payments directly to mainstream merchants and consumers through existing acquiring and settlement infrastructure, making the initiative an important indicator of changes in Japan’s payments landscape.

JCB and Circle signed a memorandum of understanding in July 2026 to test USDC payments in Japan. The first phase will use internal JCB fund transfers for a proof of concept. If the technology proves viable, the partners plan to expand it gradually to cross-border payments and merchant transactions, aiming to improve payment efficiency and reduce foreign-exchange costs for international visitors. If fully implemented, the project could give USDC access to about 40 million merchants through JCB’s network, making it one of Japan’s largest stablecoin commercialization efforts.

South Korea has entered a critical phase in drafting its Digital Asset Basic Act, with regulators gradually clarifying market-access mechanisms and compliance requirements for foreign stablecoin issuers. Circle, the issuer of USDC, which has a market capitalization of tens of billions of dollars, is moving aggressively to capture the country’s large cryptocurrency and retail markets. Its strategy centers on rigorous compliance and embedding stablecoin technology into the local financial system, while securing a long-term first-mover advantage with banks including KB Kookmin, Shinhan and Hana.

After signing a memorandum of understanding with South Korean giant Dunamu in April 2026, Circle announced that it would hold a closed-door “Current Seoul” meeting in Seoul on July 23, 2026. The company invited senior executives from major local banks, the Upbit and Bithumb exchanges, and super apps. Led by Chief Strategy Officer Dante Disparte, the meeting will seek to deepen Circle’s foothold in payment use cases, including the 5% card rebate previously piloted by Hana Bank.

Circle, the issuer of USDC, relies heavily on the stablecoin’s circulation and income from its reserve assets. As stablecoins expand into cross-border settlement, corporate payments and on-chain finance, Circle’s fiscal first-quarter 2026 results offer a key gauge of USDC’s growth momentum and the company’s ability to expand into blockchain infrastructure and machine-to-machine payments.

Circle reported that USDC circulation rose to $77 billion in its fiscal first quarter of 2026, while on-chain transaction volume increased 263% from a year earlier. Revenue, however, fell short of market expectations. The company also said the token for its Arc blockchain raised $222 million in a presale and launched Agent Stack to serve demand for autonomous transactions and payments by AI agents. Its shares surged nearly 16% after the results were released.

OSL Group is a Hong Kong-based digital asset platform, while Circle issues the U.S. dollar stablecoin USDC. The partnership will integrate USDC into OSL's trading and payments ecosystem, offering 1:1 conversion between U.S. dollars and USDC. It will also support professional trading and use as contract margin, strengthening digital-dollar liquidity in Hong Kong and global markets.

OSL Group recently announced a strategic partnership with Circle aimed at expanding global channels for USDC payments, conversions and trading through its platforms. Available information does not disclose a formal signing date, the value of the partnership or a phased rollout schedule. Confirmed elements include 1:1 U.S. dollar conversion and the introduction of USDC for professional trading and contract margin.

Circle issues the US dollar stablecoin USDC and earns most of its revenue from interest on reserve assets. USDC can support cross-border payments and is also suited to low-value, high-frequency microtransactions between AI agents. Bernstein therefore expects stablecoins to evolve from crypto trading instruments into financial infrastructure for the internet, with Circle's growth depending on greater circulation and broader use cases.

Bernstein reiterated its “outperform” rating on Circle and its $190 price target on March 10, 2026. The target was about 70% above the March 9 closing price of $111.84, after the shares had earlier risen 9.74% that day. On March 25, Bernstein said the market had misread the CLARITY Act: its restrictions primarily targeted yield payments by distributors such as Coinbase, not Circle's interest income from USDC reserves.

Circle issues USDC, which is pegged one-to-one to the US dollar, and earns most of its revenue from interest on reserve assets. With interest rates remaining elevated and tokenized markets expanding, its role is shifting from a crypto trading tool to payment and settlement infrastructure. Clear Street said the value of tokenized assets grew from about $1.5 billion in early 2023 to roughly $26.5 billion in March 2026.

As of March 16, 2026, Circle shares had risen more than 100% over one month. The stock gained 8% that day to $124.37 and was up about 49% year to date, while Bernstein had set a $190 price target. A March 13 report said Aon was piloting stablecoin premium payments with Coinbase and Paxos, while Wells Fargo had filed a trademark application for “WFUSD” covering trading, payments, wallets and custody.

Circle-issued USDC is a U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin, while Circle Mint allows businesses to mint, redeem and manage USDC. Transfers between multinational corporate entities typically rely on bank wires, which are constrained by business hours and cutoff times and take one to three days to settle. The trial therefore highlights blockchain’s potential to reduce the time that funds remain in transit.

Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said on March 7, 2026, that the company had completed 11 USDC transfers among eight internal entities through Circle Mint in the first month, totaling more than $68 million. All were completed within 30 minutes, while about 90% of transfer-pricing work could be completed within one day. The related multi-entity treasury-management features were expected to be updated later that month.