TLDR
- Circle stock rose nearly 16% to close at $131.76, its highest since March 18
- Q1 revenue hit $694M (up 20% YoY); USDC in circulation reached $77B, up 28%
- Circle raised $222M in a presale of its ARC token, valuing the Arc network at $3B
- Investors in the Arc round included a16z Crypto, BlackRock, Apollo, and ARK Invest
- Ark Invest bought $5.5M worth of CRCL stock on Monday; Wall Street’s consensus price target is $138.50
Circle Internet Group’s stock had a strong Monday. Shares of the stablecoin issuer closed up 15.91% at $131.76, pushing its year-to-date gain to 66%.
The move came after Circle posted first-quarter results and revealed a $222 million presale for its new ARC token.
Revenue for Q1 came in at $694 million, up 20% year-over-year. Adjusted earnings rose 24% to $151 million. Net income, however, fell 15% to $55 million.
USDC, Circle’s flagship stablecoin, had $77 billion in circulation at quarter-end — a 28% jump from a year ago. Onchain USDC transaction volume grew 263% year-over-year to $21.5 trillion for the quarter.
Only Tether’s USDt, at $189 billion in circulation, is larger.
Arc Token Raise Draws Big Names
Circle also disclosed it raised $222 million in a presale of its ARC token, the utility token for its new institutional blockchain called Arc. The raise valued the project at $3 billion.
Backers include a16z Crypto, BlackRock, Apollo Global Management, ARK Invest, and Intercontinental Exchange.
CEO Jeremy Allaire said the Arc network has a “huge flywheel effect” on Circle’s broader stablecoin business.
Wall Street Reaction
Analysts were broadly positive. Peter Christiansen of Citigroup has a 12-month price target of $243 on CRCL. Gautam Chhugani of Bernstein has a $190 target. Both rate the stock a buy.
Wall Street’s consensus target sits at $138.50, according to TipRanks, meaning Monday’s close of $131.76 is getting close to that level.
Andrew Jeffrey of William Blair said the stock will “probably remain volatile” near term, but pointed to multiple positive catalysts from Circle’s stablecoin position.
Dan Dolev of Mizuho said Circle is showing new use cases for stablecoins, expanding their role beyond crypto trading.
Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest bought 41,904 CRCL shares across its ARKK, ARKW, and ARKF ETFs on Monday — totaling around $5.5 million.
Circle is ARK’s sixth-largest holding in ARKK at 4.6%, its fourth-largest in ARKW at 4.58%, and its second-largest in ARKF at 6.66%.
It was ARK’s first Circle purchase since March 24.
Monday’s close of $131.76 is Circle’s highest since March 18. The stock is up 49.7% over the past month.
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