Circle

Circle unveiled Arc, a general-purpose blockchain and "economic operating system" to support payments, tokenized markets, lending, trading and commerce. BlackRock and Visa are among Arc's first validators, and Circle is integrating its payments network and FX settlement into the chain. Transaction fees on Arc will be paid in USDC as Circle seeks to diversify amid growing stablecoin competition and plans for a bank-backed rival; CRCL shares are down about 36% over the past 12 months. » More on finance.yahoo.com

Circle shares fall 4.7% in premarket trading, dropping from $97.42 to $92.81 as uncertainty returns ahead of a procedural vote in the U.S. Senate on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act. The 60 votes needed for approval now look increasingly hard to get, and forecasts put the chance of passage at around 16%. Three contentious issues — ethics rules, liability for DeFi developers, and a yield cap for stablecoins — remain unresolved; the yield cap would hit Circle particularly hard because its business model relies heavily on earnings from reserves. Goldman Sachs raised its price target to $92 but kept its rating at "Neutral," and competitors like Coinbase are also showing premarket losses as investors await the vote and the upcoming FOMC decision. » More on de.investing.com

Circle received state bank charters under the GENIUS Act and reported that the stablecoin USDC reached a market capitalization of $70–75 billion. CEO Jeremy Allaire forecasts possible growth of the stablecoin market to well over $1 trillion, and Circle announced a partnership with OKX to deepen USDC liquidity. Positive analyst commentary (Bernstein buy rating) and an optimistic congressional hearing contributed to the rally; the stock rose intraday to $96.66. » More on de.investing.com