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Circle Hits New Record With Market Cap Nearing That of Coinbase

Circle’s blistering rally reflects investor hunger for stablecoin exposure, but lofty valuation multiples are raising eyebrows.

Updated Jun 23, 2025, 9:12 p.m. Published Jun 23, 2025, 9:02 p.m.
Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire (Danny Nelson/CoinDesk)
Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire (Danny Nelson/CoinDesk)

What to know:

  • Circle's shares hit fresh record high on Monday before paring gains, extending its post-IPO rally to 750%.
  • The company's market capitalization reached almost the supply of its flagship token, the $61 billion USDC and is nearing that of crypto exchange giant Coinbase.
  • Despite high valuation multiples, Circle's stock is reflecting strong investor interest in the rapidly-growing stablecoin market as U.S. lawmakers progress towards regulating the sector.

Shares of stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL) soared to a fresh record high on Monday extending their explosive rally since its IPO and making the company worth almost as much as its flagship token's market capitalization.

Shares were up another 22% at one point Monday morning, hitting a record high just shy of $299, before giving back some of the advance. The stock closed around $263, up 9% for the session. Since the IPO earlier this month priced at $31, shares have appreciated a whopping 750%.

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At its peak, Circle’s market capitalization reached roughly $60 billion, putting it nearly on par with the $61.3 billion supply of its USDC stablecoin. It also brings the firm within striking distance of crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN), which has a market cap of about $78 billion.

Circle’s surge this month is a testament to the soaring investor appetite for the fast-growing stablecoin market, a crypto sector with few publicly-traded pure plays. USDC remains the second-largest dollar-pegged token in circulation, and it's widely used across exchanges and decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, and increasingly popular for payments and cross-border transactions.

Catalysts that helped to fuel the rally was the U.S. Senate passing the so-called GENIUS Act last week, advancing regulation for the asset class that some believe it could reach trillions over the next years.

Read more: Circle's Allaire: Stablecoins Could Expand by Trillions in 10 Years, Will Be Integral Part of Global Financial System

Still, some analysts warn the rally may be running ahead of fundamentals.

The rally put Circle in the market cap league of well-established fintech giants like Robinhood ($68 billion), Nubank ($59 billion), Block ($38 billion), and not far from Coinbase ($78 billion), according to Jon Ma, CEO of crypto analytics firm Artemis.

The company also trades at eye-watering valuation multiples rarely seen among its fintech and crypto peers: 32x its revenue, 80x its gross profit, 152x EBITDA, and 285x earnings, Ma pointed out.

"Not a lot of upside in the current model," he said in a previous post on Thursday.

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KuCoin Hits Record Market Share as 2025 Volumes Outpace Crypto Market

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KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.

What to know:

  • KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
  • This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
  • Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
  • Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
  • Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.

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Bitcoin’s weakness versus gold and equities puts quantum computing fears back in focus

Quantum Computing Optics (Ben Wicks/Unsplash, modified by CoinDesk)

Some investors have revived concerns that quantum computing could threaten bitcoin, but analysts and developers say recent price weakness reflects market structure.

What to know:

  • Bitcoin’s recent price stagnation has sparked a renewed debate over quantum-computing risks, with investor Nic Carter arguing that quantum fears are already shaping market behavior.
  • On-chain analysts and prominent investors counter that the slowdown is better explained by large holders taking profits and increased supply hitting the market around the $100,000 level.
  • Most bitcoin developers still view quantum attacks as a distant, manageable threat, noting that proposed upgrades like BIP-360 provide a path to quantum-resistant security and are unlikely to explain short-term price moves.