Bernstein Identifies Circle and Coinbase as Top Stablecoin Exposure Plays

According to The Block, Bernstein analysts identify Circle and Coinbase, through their USDC partnership, as the most direct investment exposure in the current stablecoin market. The analysts believe that AI agent payments—transactions autonomously initiated, authorized, and settled by software—represent a potential source of incremental demand for stablecoins, though currently on a small scale: Coinbase’s x402 protocol processed approximately $25 million in volume over the past 30 days, while Stripe’s machine payment protocol handled just $5,000 in its first week. The core investment thesis for stablecoins remains the ongoing expansion of mainstream use cases such as cross-border payments, remittances, and new stablecoin-backed banking services; USDC’s supply and transaction volume have both reached all-time highs and lead in market share of transaction volume.