Beyond the catalyst of the expected passage of the Clear法案, it is also important to recognize Circle’s ongoing business model evolution and iteration, with the most critical development being the launch on April 8 of Circle Payments Network (CPN) Managed Payments—a fully managed stablecoin settlement platform. CPN is Circle’s global stablecoin payment network, launched in May 2025, connecting banks, PSPs, VASPs, and enterprises to enable 24/7 real-time cross-border settlement. The Managed Payments service introduced in early April this year represents its “managed services layer,” allowing traditional financial institutions to access stablecoins with zero exposure to crypto assets—essentially a “managed enhancement” of the Circle Payments Network (CPN). 1. Features of CPN Managed Payments In simple terms, Circle packages all the complexity of stablecoins—minting, burning, compliance, on-chain settlement, and multi-chain routing—into a SaaS offering. Partners simply invoke APIs and operate as if they were using traditional fiat payment rails; they only see fiat inflows/outflows, API callbacks, and reporting. Thunes, a global cross-border payment network covering 140+ countries, has integrated its clients (banks and mobile wallets) with CPN Managed Payments to enable stablecoin settlement within existing fiat workflows. Similarly, Europe’s leading payment processor Worldline has integrated CPN Managed Payments to offer its customers blockchain-native settlement options. 2. Significance of CPN Managed Payments for Circle This positions Circle to become a hybrid of Stripe and Visa—because it combines the core strengths of both: Visa’s role (network operator): 1) CPN is a many-to-many global payment rail connecting banks, PSPs, fintechs, and enterprises to enable real-time cross-border and domestic settlement. 2) Like Visa, it provides standardized network infrastructure: unified protocols, instant settlement, and global reach (covering 20+ chains and multiple national fiat payout corridors). 3) Unlike Visa, it uses USDC (a stablecoin) as the settlement medium instead of traditional correspondent banking networks, achieving instant, 24/7, batch-free finality. Stripe’s role (B2B SaaS / developer-friendly infrastructure): 1) CPN Managed Payments is a fully managed SaaS solution: partners (banks/PSPs) interact solely via API at the fiat layer; Circle handles all backend operations—including USDC minting/burning, compliance, blockchain routing, and gas abstraction. 2) Like Stripe, it delivers a single-integration, turnkey solution that abstracts complexity, enabling traditional financial institutions to access stablecoin payments with zero crypto exposure (similar to how Stripe enables e-commerce platforms to easily integrate payments). 3) It emphasizes programmability and developer APIs (Payment Intents, Payouts, Accounts API, etc.), supporting modern use cases such as merchant acquiring, high-frequency payouts, and AI-driven payments. Visa delivers “network scale and reliability”; Stripe delivers “ease-of-use SaaS and programmability.” CPN Managed Payments fuses both into a modern, stablecoin-driven payment infrastructure—simultaneously a global network and a managed services platform. 3. Further Comparison: CPN Managed Payments vs. Stripe Stripe has already deeply integrated stablecoins like USDC to provide businesses with a zero-crypto-exposure end-to-end experience: 1) Merchants can receive USDC on chains like Ethereum or Solana via products like Checkout or Payment Links; the system automatically converts USDC to fiat (USD/EUR, etc.) in the background at ~1.5% fees. 2) It supports global payouts to contractors, creators, and suppliers in USDC, while businesses manage only fiat on their backend. 3) Through acquisitions like Bridge, Stripe enables a fully托管 model—enterprises complete cross-border payments without touching blockchain directly, covering 100+ countries and significantly reducing FX costs and settlement delays. Its advantages lie in developer-friendly APIs, programmable payments, and a rich payment suite (Checkout, Billing, Treasury), making it ideal for digital merchants, small-to-medium platforms, and companies prioritizing front-end payment experiences. Many firms rely solely on Stripe to achieve faster, cheaper global payments. CPN Managed Payments focuses on institutional-grade B2B infrastructure, serving banks, PSPs, fintechs, and large enterprises with cross-border settlement needs: 1) It centers on fully managed services with strong network effects: Circle acts as the network operator connecting multiple regulated financial institutions (OFIs/BFIs) to enable real-time, many-to-many coordination. A single integration grants access to a global ecosystem of partners—not just a single platform. 2) In terms of depth, CPN targets high-volume, high-value scenarios such as supply chain payments, bulk payroll disbursements, and corporate treasury allocations—delivering 24/7 instant settlement with minimal FX and intermediary costs. Circle fully manages the entire lifecycle: USDC minting/burning, Travel Rule/AML compliance, multi-chain routing, and liquidity management. 3) Its target customers are banks, payment processors, large PSPs, and global corporate treasury departments—with emphasis on enterprise-grade SLAs, auditability, and regulatory licensing coverage. It also includes conditional payments and smart-contract-level orchestration—ideal for AI agent payments, high-frequency M2M transactions, and large-scale B2B settlements. From this perspective, Stripe functions more like a “payment SaaS platform” (merchant/platform-focused), while CPN is a “stablecoin version of SWIFT infrastructure” (inter-institutional network). In pure institutional B2B and large-scale cross-border scenarios, CPN offers superior cost efficiency, regulatory certainty, and zero crypto exposure. In practice, many TradFi and fintech firms are simultaneously testing or adopting both: using Stripe for front-end merchant acquisition and CPN for back-end large-volume settlement/treasury operations. 4. Why This Represents a Business Model Evolution for Circle? From my perspective, the launch of CPN Managed Payments marks Circle’s evolution from being primarily a “stablecoin issuer + interest income-driven” entity toward becoming a “B2B SaaS payment infrastructure provider.” Direct monetization pathways include: - Transaction settlement fees (basis points, tiered by volume); - Infrastructure subscription or managed service fees; - Value-added services: compliance reporting, liquidity management; - Future network effects: more participating institutions → better liquidity → higher fee revenue. Revenue is no longer reliant solely on reserve interest but now driven by transaction volume—generating recurring income from transaction fees (bps), service subscriptions, infrastructure usage fees, FX spreads, etc.—aligning with Circle’s goal to scale non-interest income by 2026. This creates more sustainable and cyclical-resistant cash flows: even if interest rates decline, growth in transaction volume ensures stable revenue. The core of this business model evolution lies here: Circle is transitioning from “selling dollar-backed stablecoins” to “selling a global payment rail”—delivering SWIFT-like network services via B2B SaaS. Earlier this month, in this post https://t.co/7nUC7gCRG2 discussing favored U.S. stock sectors, I explicitly highlighted three crypto stocks: Hood, Coin, and Circle.