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CRCL stock rose as much as 22% this week, ranking as the biggest gainer.
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This comes as the ring’s biggest bet on AI agent payments.
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Circle CEO Jeremy Aller noted that USDC is currently the most widely used stablecoin among AI agents.
CRCL stock was the biggest gainer in the stock market this week, even as the US-Iran conflict put pressure on risk assets. Stocks particularly extended their gains from last week as the USDC issuer circle moved to dominate AI agent payments.
TradingView data shows Ring’s stock is up 22% this week, rising above $100 for the first time this year. The stock climbed above $108 on March 5 before closing the week at around $102.
With this week’s gains, CRCL stock is now up 26% year-to-date (YTD). It is notably one of the few crypto stocks to be in the green this year, as crypto stocks as a whole face downward pressure amid a bear market for crypto prices, led by Bitcoin, which is down from annual highs above $97,000.
It is worth noting that the CRCL stock rally comes amid the US-Iran conflict, which is also putting pressure on risk assets. Crypto prices fell earlier in the week but quickly corrected as the war sent oil prices above $90 yesterday, a multi-year high mark for oil markets.
CoinGape’s latest market analysis has predicted that Circle’s stock price will fall to $120 in the coming weeks if the bullish trend continues. One positive for stocks is that the USDC is enjoying greater acceptance.
Allium data, shared by Visa, showed that USDC surpassed USDT and other stablecoins in transaction volume last month. Stablecoins saw a record transaction volume of $1.78 trillion, with USDC accounting for $1.28 trillion of those transactions.
According to a Bloomberg report, USDC issuer Circle is betting big on AI agent payments as it appears to dominate other stablecoin issuers such as Tether and Ripple in this field. The company’s CEO, Jeremy Aller, said during the earnings call that they are building a new financial system and that he is optimistic that his company can “play a key role in the synergy between AI and stablecoins and blockchain.”
Stablecoins are expected to be the preferred currency for AI agents, as they are cheaper and faster than traditional payment systems. In a separate interview following Circle’s earnings call, Aller explained how stablecoins could play a key role in the AI business as agents move to secure the services of other agents.
