Circle (CRCL) sank around 22%, its worst drop since June 2025, after a stricter CLARITY Act draft threatened to ban stablecoin performance, clashing with surging USDC growth.
Summary
- Circle Internet Group (CRCL) shares are trading around $98.71, down about 22% on the day and about 18% below Monday’s close, its steepest drop since June 2025.
- The liquidation follows reports that the latest draft of the US CLARITY Act would sharply limit or ban stablecoin performance and rewards, directly impacting Circle’s USDC-centric business model.
- The move wipes billions from Circle’s market value even as USDC circulation and on-chain usage increases, highlighting the tension between regulatory risk and underlying product growth.
Shares of Circle Internet Group plunged on Tuesday after new reports that US lawmakers are tightening a key stablecoin bill to restrict performance and rewards, sparking an aggressive sell-off in one of the highest-beta crypto stocks on the market.
Real-time data shows Circle is trading around $98.71 on the NYSE under the symbol CRCL, down $27.93 or 22.05% on the day, with intraday lows near $98.31 after opening at $126.35 and closing Monday at $126.64. Intellectia.ai and other market trackers said the drop reached about 18% by midday, marking Circle’s biggest one-day percentage drop since June 2025.
circle depression came alongside a broader sell-off in crypto stocks, with Coinbase (COIN) falling more than 7% to about $178.10 and Robinhood (HOOD) down 4.7%, after a draft of the CLARITY Law circulated in Washington. According to the draft summary, the latest language would “ban the yield of stablecoins on all exchanges,” effectively banning interest rate rewards on tokens like USDC, a central revenue lever for both Circle and Coinbase. The bill is seen as a direct threat to Circle’s stablecoin payments and rewards infrastructure, calling proposed limits on performance “critical” to the economics of its platform and a key driver of Tuesday’s 22% intraday drop.
The price action is surprising because it clashes with the still solid fundamentals of the USDC. Yahoo Finance recently noted that circle The stock nearly tripled from its IPO price of $31 on June 5, 2025, and at one point nearly touched $299, boosted by optimism around U.S. stablecoin legislation. Circle’s own “Internet Financial System in 2026” report highlighted that USDC in circulation has expanded dramatically alongside rising reserve revenues, while Intellectia.ai cited Baird telling its clients that USDC in circulation averaged $75.2 billion through March 15, up 6% since the company’s last earnings report. Baird raised his price target on Circle to $138 from $110 and reiterated an Outperform rating, arguing there is a “real path” to new revenue through products like Circle Payments Network and Arc Blockchain.
Reuters reported in February that Circle It beat Wall Street’s expectations for fourth-quarter revenue thanks to stronger stablecoin circulation and higher interest income on reserves, sending shares up nearly 30% in a single session at the time. However, CRCL is now trading below $100, about 35% below last week’s peak near $150 and more than 20% below the intraday highs it set in early March, even as USDC leads 2026 stablecoin flows and on-chain usage is up 600% so far this year. That disconnect between booming token metrics and a stock that just erased nearly a fifth of its value in one day captures investors’ central dilemma: As long as U.S. policymakers treat the rewards of stablecoins as quasi-banking, Circle stock appears to know how to price on both Hill’s mood and the USDC growth curve.
