{"id":28967,"date":"2026-05-18T18:13:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T18:13:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/bernstein-circle-call-cements-clarity-edge\/"},"modified":"2026-05-18T18:13:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T18:13:13","slug":"bernstein-circle-call-cements-clarity-edge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/bernstein-circle-call-cements-clarity-edge\/","title":{"rendered":"Bernstein Circle call cements CLARITY edge"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-detail__content blocks\">\n<p class=\"is-style-lead\">Bernstein Circle analysts said the CLARITY Act yield compromise blocks rival stablecoin issuers from competing on rates<\/p>\n<div id=\"cn-block-summary-block_0f34f1535610bc7bf026d672a1fb19d5\" class=\"cn-block-summary\">\n<div class=\"cn-block-summary__nav tabs\">\n        <span class=\"tabs__item is-selected\">Summary<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n<div class=\"cn-block-summary__content\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Bernstein said the CLARITY Act language structurally favors Circle by banning deposit-like yield on passive stablecoin balances.<\/li>\n<li>Total dollar-backed stablecoin supply surpassed $300 billion this week, with USDC and USDT controlling roughly 97% of the market.<\/li>\n<li>The firm maintained an Outperform rating and $190 price target on Circle, implying about 67% upside from Friday\u2019s close.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- .cn-block-summary --><\/p>\n<p>Bernstein analysts said the CLARITY Act\u2019s yield compromise structurally favors Circle Internet Group, ending what they described as a looming stablecoin \u201cinterest rate arms race.\u201d The note landed days after the bill cleared the Senate Banking Committee 15-9.<\/p>\n<p>The compromise prohibits stablecoin issuers from paying yield economically equivalent to bank deposits, while preserving rewards tied to trading and payments. Bernstein <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theblock.co\/post\/401615\/bernstein-says-clarity-act-yield-compromise-cements-circles-edge-amid-record-stablecoin-supply\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">argued<\/a> the language protects USDC\u2019s growth model.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Stablecoin supply tops $300 billion<\/h2>\n<p>Total dollar-backed stablecoin supply surpassed $300 billion this week, with Tether and USDC controlling roughly 97% of the market. Adjusted monthly transaction volume reached around $15 trillion, putting annualized flows near $100 trillion.<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- .cn-block-related-link --><\/p>\n<p>USDC\u2019s market share in adjusted transaction volumes climbed from 41% to 60% year-over-year. Bernstein analysts led by Gautam Chhugani wrote that the compromise \u201ccements stablecoins as payment instruments rather than deposit substitutes.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Circle ARC blockchain reinforces thesis<\/h2>\n<p>Bernstein also highlighted Circle\u2019s growing agentic payments infrastructure, including gas-free USDC transfers, the x402 protocol, and the ARC blockchain. ARC uses USDC as native gas under what the firm called \u201cquantum-ready\u201d architecture.<\/p>\n<p>The bank maintained an Outperform rating and $190 price target on Circle, implying roughly 67% upside from its $114 close on Friday. Bernstein also kept an Outperform call on Coinbase with a $330 target.<\/p>\n<p>Circle does not pay passive yield on USDC directly. Partners such as Coinbase instead use distribution arrangements and activity-linked rewards programs tied to USDC usage, structures the CLARITY Act compromise leaves intact.<\/p>\n<p>The CLARITY Act now heads to a full Senate floor vote that requires 60 votes. The House must reconcile any differences before the bill reaches President Trump\u2019s desk for signature.<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- .cn-block-related-link --><\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bernstein Circle analysts said the CLARITY Act yield compromise blocks rival stablecoin issuers from competing on rates Summary Bernstein said the CLARITY Act language structurally favors Circle by banning deposit-like&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28822,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28967","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cryptocurrency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28967","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28967"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28967\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28968,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28967\/revisions\/28968"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28822"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}