ChainThink reports that on August 25, according to Cointelegraph, investment bank Bernstein released a research note maintaining its Outperform rating on Circle (CRCL) with a price target of $140, implying a potential upside of approximately 60%.
Circle's stock price has risen approximately 40% over the past month. Analysts note signs of "digital dollar re-inflation" with USDC supply surging by about $2 billion in seven days, reversing a six-month period of stagnation.
Bernstein expects the next cycle of stablecoin growth to be driven by a crypto market rebound, clearer regulatory conditions, the development of tokenized capital markets, and increased adoption in payments, and has observed early signals of AI agents using stablecoins for payments.
In terms of market position, USDC's total market capitalization still lags behind USDT, but its trading activity has significantly increased.
According to Bernstein, USDC's share of adjusted stablecoin trading volume has risen from approximately 40% in 2025 to over 60% so far in 2026, surpassing USDT on this metric.