Bernstein: Driven by the adoption of stablecoins and AI-powered agent finance, Circle's stock price may still have 60% upside potential.

PANews reported on March 11 that, according to CoinDesk, analysts at brokerage firm Bernstein maintained their "outperform" rating on USDC issuer Circle stock with a target price of $190, representing an upside of approximately 60% from the current $120 level.

The report points out that stablecoin adoption is increasingly detached from the crypto market cycle. Despite a bear market, USDC supply has rebounded to nearly a record $78 billion, and the total market capitalization of USD stablecoins has stabilized at approximately $270 billion. Adjusted stablecoin trading volume has increased by over 90% year-over-year, with improved transaction turnover, indicating that stablecoins are increasingly being used in scenarios beyond crypto transactions. Payment adoption is a major driver, with stablecoins gradually being embedded in traditional card networks. Visa now supports over 130 stablecoin-linked cards in more than 50 countries, with an annualized settlement volume of approximately $4.6 billion. AI-driven "agent finance" may become a new growth theme, as machine-to-machine micro-payments between autonomous software agents will require stablecoins as a natural payment channel.