Circle resumes its post-IPO rally after pullback, stablecoin issuer boosts Coinbase

• Circle shares fell 15% over a two-day period, while Coinbase rallied.
• Shares of Circle have rocketed more than 600% since its initial public offering on June 5.
• Coinbase is on pace for a 50% monthly gain, its best month since November and its first three-month rally since the end of 2023.

Stablecoin issuer Circle resumed its rally on Thursday after a brief pullback this week.

Shares were last higher by 8%, after losing about 15% earlier over the past two days amid heightened post-IPO volatility and as investors weigh speculation around crypto regulation and the upcoming Fed rate decision.

With Circle still hot off its IPO, its investors may have rotated into Coinbase, which gained 15% in the same two days Circle fell. Coinbase, which began as a crypto exchange operator but has expanded its suite of crypto services, received a batch of price target increases this week from Wall Street including from Bernstein and Oppenheimer.

Coinbase is the main distribution platform for USDC, the popular stablecoin issued by Circle. It receives half of the revenue generated from the interest earned on Circle's USDC reserves. It also makes 100% of the interest on any USDC held directly on its own platform.

As awareness of Circle's story grows, investors are beginning to see how Coinbase could benefit from opportunites in the stablecoin space.

Shares of Circle have rocketed more than 600% since its initial public offering on June 5. Meanwhile, Coinbase is on pace for a 50% monthly gain, its best month since November and its first three-month rally since the end of 2023. Shares added more than 2% on Thursday.

Investors this week were watching Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who was on Capitol Hill for his semiannual testimony to Congress. Powell is facing increasing pressure both from President Donald Trump and multiple White House officials to lower interest rates, as well as two key Fed officials who have said they will likely favor a rate cut as soon as July – which could dampen Circle's earnings. The company earns interest income on the reserves backing USDC, which are primarily held in cash at banks and short-term U.S. Treasury securities.

They're also watching progress on the GENIUS (short for Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins) Act, which seeks to establish a regulatory framework for the use of stablecoins. The bill passed the Senate last week and now heads to the House of Representatives. The House has its own stablecoin legislation in the works, called the STABLE Act.

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