Analysts at William Blair are confident that stablecoins are entering a commercial phase. They have initiated coverage of Circle Internet Group (ticker CRCL) with an outperform rating and call the company one of the main beneficiaries of the upcoming shift in the global financial system.
According to analysts, stablecoins are moving beyond crypto trading and are starting to penetrate real settlements and corporate finance. Circle and USDC play an important role in the transition to a new financial system.
In the report, the company calls Circle “the most important participant in the stablecoin ecosystem,” capable of radically transforming the cross-border payments market. USDC, according to Blair, already has every chance to displace fiat in international trade, especially with the emergence of clear regulatory rules and new payment solutions that provide fast and cheap transfers.
They estimate the potential market for such payments at about $20 trillion and believe that Circle can become the bridge between traditional finance and blockchain infrastructure.
Currently, the main income of Circle comes from interest income on USDC reserves. But in the near future, the company plans to launch new products. Among them are Arc — a blockchain specifically created for stablecoin settlements, as well as Circle Payments Network. According to analysts, these projects could generate tens of billions of dollars in turnover as they scale.
William Blair’s position coincides with the forecasts of Bernstein. In a recent report, they suggested that the supply of USDC will almost triple by the end of 2027 — to $220 billion. This is about a third of the entire global stablecoin market. At Bernstein, they believe that growth will be driven by regulatory compliance, high liquidity, and partnerships with giants such as Coinbase, Binance, Fiserv, and Corpay.
Growth of stablecoin volume from October 2024 to October 2025. Source: The Block Data
According to the accompanying report by William Blair, stablecoins can reduce international transfer costs by up to 90%. The authors call this sector “the main source of real utility in crypto.” Both Blair and Bernstein are confident that stablecoins are gradually becoming a convenient means of settlement, and Circle holds a leading position among regulated issuers in the US.
Circle, which went public in June, closed trading on Tuesday at $134.36. In June, the company’s shares rose to almost $300 — right after the adoption of the GENIUS Act, which for the first time established a federal framework for payment stablecoins in the US.
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Analysts’ optimism about Circle echoes their views on Coinbase (ticker COIN), which also received an outperform rating. In a separate report, Blair notes that turning USDC into a commercial payment standard could become a “long-term growth driver” for Coinbase, regardless of interest rates.
Coinbase earns from every dollar of USDC in circulation, and analysts call it “the highest quality and most scalable bet on the long-term growth of the crypto ecosystem.” They also believe that investors underestimate the growth potential of USDC in commerce and the leading role of the Base network in DeFi — these factors could become sustainable sources of profit for the exchange.
