Visa, Stripe, Mastercard Launch Rival Stablecoin Network; Circle Shares Plunge 14%
CRCL sits 30% above its 52-week low of $49.9.
Summary
A consortium of major tech and payments companies, including Visa, Stripe, and Mastercard, has announced the formation of Open USD, a new rival stablecoin network. This new token, which can be minted and redeemed at no cost, poses a direct competitive threat to Circle's core product, USDC, which it co-founded with Coinbase. While Circle has recently expanded partnerships and reported strong Q1 earnings, this development challenges its market dominance. Circle's stock plummeted nearly 14% on the news, while Coinbase (COIN), also a partner in USDC, saw its shares drop 6% as it is also involved in the new Open USD venture. The launch of Open USD later this year will be a critical event to watch for its impact on the stablecoin market.
At the time of this announcement, CRCL was trading at $65.09 on NYSE in the Crypto Assets sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $16.2B. The 52-week trading range was $49.90 to $262.97. This news item was assessed with negative market sentiment and an importance score of 9 out of 10. Source: Dow Jones Newswires.