Bernstein reiterated its $140 price target on Circle (NYSE:CRCL) Monday, saying the stablecoin giant’s growth cycle continues with or without the CLARITY Act.

Why Bernstein Says Circle Doesn’t Need the Clarity Act

Bernstein analysts led by Gautam Chhugani wrote in a note to clients cited by The Block that Circle’s growth cycle is independent of CLARITY Act passage. 

A macro regime shift favoring hard assets and stablecoins, growing stablecoin payment adoption, real-world blockchain capital markets, and agentic AI payments settling in USDC are all moving forward regardless of what happens on September 15.

USDC (CRYPTO: USDC) supply added $1.7 billion last week after six months of flat growth, Circle controls roughly 80% of decentralized exchange volumes, and its Agent Stack platform already hosts more than 900 paid services with 99% of agent-payment volume settling in USDC.

Meanwhile, adjusted stablecoin transaction volume hit $11 trillion in 2025 and is tracking at an annualized $17 trillion through July, up 60% year-over-year. 

If the Clarity Act fails, Bernstein expects the SEC and CFTC to step in directly, which it views as an equally positive outcome for the industry.

What Cathie Wood Said About Circle

ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood posted on X that despite CRCL appreciating 84% since its IPO, the one-year chart illustrates the inefficiency of public equity markets in the short term.

She argued that financial services analysts who built their track records on Visa (NYSE:V) and Mastercard (NYSE:MA) cannot properly value Circle as a disrupter of their business model.

As Benzinga reported, Circle posted a swing to profit in Q2 with transaction revenue doubling, USDC processed $849 billion in July volume representing 62% of the entire stablecoin market, and the company secured a federal trust bank charter, shifting it well beyond a pure interest rate play.

CRCL Price Analysis

CRCL is up 2% Monday, extending a sharp reversal off the $59.47 support that held through three tests in July and August. 

Moreover, Circle stock price has broken above the descending trendline from the May highs and cleared the 100-day EMA at $81.06, with the 200-day EMA at $95.68 as the next meaningful target.

Key levels for CRCL:

  • $96 — Resistance 
  • $88 — Support

Photo via Shutterstock