Circle Internet Financial, the issuer of the second-largest stablecoin USDC, has achieved a market valuation of $66.9 billion, eclipsing the entire $61.3 billion circulating supply of its own dollar-pegged token.

This rise, fueled by growing investor confidence following pivotal U.S. stablecoin legislation, has seen Circle inch closer to crypto exchange giant Coinbase’s $78 billion market cap.

CRCL Outpacing USDC

Data from Yahoo Finance shows Circle (CRCL) went as high as $298.98 during Monday’s session before closing at $263.45. This was still a nearly 10% improvement for the day and an 800% jump since its IPO in early June. The peak pushed the company’s market capitalization to just under $67 billion, overtaking the $61.3 billion supply of USDC currently in circulation.

This milestone follows the U.S. Senate’s decisive 68-30 vote on June 17 to pass the GENIUS Act. Once signed into law, the legislation will mark the United States’ first federal framework for dollar-pegged crypto assets.

It will mandate full backing, regular audits, regulatory approval for issuers, and limits on algorithmic stablecoins while paving the way for banks, fintechs, and potentially major retailers to enter the market.

Investor reaction was immediate, with CRCL shares surging over 80% last week alone. The momentum continued yesterday, amplified by news that fintech giant Fiserv plans to launch its own price-stable digital asset (FIUSD) by year-end using Circle’s infrastructure.

Bubble Fears vs. Broader Stablecoin Boom

While Circle’s valuation now places it within striking distance of Coinbase, the small matter of its trading at 216x net income with a P/E ratio above 3,200 has a few talking heads worried about a possible bubble. They suggest that investors are possibly banking heavily on future profits rather than present fundamentals.

However, the uptick has come at a time when the broader stablecoin market is experiencing growth. A recent Coinbase report revealed that fiat-linked cryptocurrencies processed $27.6 trillion in 2024, beating Visa and Mastercard combined. The study also found strong interest from 81% of crypto-aware SMBs and tripled interest from Fortune 500 firms compared to 2024.

Additionally, the latest data from DeFiLlama shows the sector’s total market cap rose by $5.671 billion in the last 30 days to push past $251 billion. Ethereum was the primary growth engine, contributing more than $3.6 billion of the new supply.

Meanwhile, Tether’s USDT is the most dominant stablecoin, with its $156 billion circulating supply making up 62% of the market. USDC’s $61.3 billion market cap gives it a 24% stake, solidifying its second-place position in the space.

It’s been a wild ride in the cryptocurrency market but, to be fair, the same is true in full force for legacy markets as well. The conflict between Iran and Israel is now receiving daily developments, with the latest news of a ceasefire sparking a quick recovery.

Bitcoin’s price tested $106K, while the majority of altcoins are marking recoveries across the board.

Bitcoin Touches $106K, But What’s Next?

As CryptoPotato reported earlier today, Bitcoin’s price hit $106,000 immediately after Donald Trump announced that there’s been an agreement for ceasefire between Israel and Iran that’s already “in effect.”

As seen in the chart below, the price rallied from a low of around $99,600 to a high above $106,000 in a matter of hours, sparking a considerable wave of short liquidations across the derivatives market.

At the time of this writing, BTC trades at around $105,400, up 3.9% in the past 24 hours. The cryptocurrency remains 1.3% down for the week but the recovery seems to have started and, hopefully, it will continue.

However, for this to happen, both Israel and Iran need to honor the agreement. Unfortunately, according to a report from CNN, Israel accused Iran of firing missiles and vowed to strike back, while Tehran denied violating the ceasefire agreement.

The market remains volatile and over $500 million worth of leveraged positions were liquidated over the past 24 hours, according to data from Coinglass.

Altcoins Bounce, SEI Explodes 41%

The large majority of altcoins has also staged a considerable recovery in the past day. In fact, all of the cryptocurrencies from the top 50 by market capitalization are charting gains.

The undeniable best performer is SEI, which skyrocketed by a whopping 41%, followed by Sonic (S), which is up 22% and Virtuals, which recovered by 20.3%.

At the time of this writing, there are no altcoins from the top 100 that are trading in the red, but the slowest performer seems to be Fasttoken (FTN), which is flat, followed by WhiteBIT Coin (WBT), which is up by 0.6%.

As CryptoPotato reported earlier today, Donald Trump announced that there’s a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Iran. The crypto market took the news very positively and Bitcoin soared, testing the $106,000 level in a matter of hours.

At the time of this writing, the price has corrected a bit and it trades at around $105,300, but remains 3.8% up on the day.

Later in the day, however, reports emerged of Israel blaming Iran for firing missiles after the agreement took place and promising to retaliate. Markets are hesitant to accept any further escalation and even though the tension remains, the volatility seems to have been weathered in the past few hours.

Donald Trump urged Israel not to retaliate and to “bring [their] pilots home.” He said that he is “not happy with Israel,” while further reassuring that “Iran’s nuclear capacities are gone,” and that “Iran will never rebuild its nuclear program.”

UPDATE: 14:41; 24.04.2025

Donald Trump has reportedly spoken to Benjamin Netanyahu on the phone. The Israeli prime minister told him that he could not cancel the attack and that some response was needed to Iran’s violation of the ceasefire. Israel has, however, agreed to scale back its operation, canceling strikes on numerous targets.