Under political conflict, concept stocks in the currency circle follow Bitcoin's strength. Circle (CRCL.US) has risen by 46% year-to-date and received a target price upgrade to $136 from institutions.

Against the backdrop of continuing tension in the Middle East and the rebound in the prices of encrypted assets, the stock prices of companies listed in stablecoins and digital assets have recently shown strength. Among them, stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL.US) has become one of the prominent winners in the industry. Multiple institutions believe that as the use cases of stablecoins continue to expand, the company's stock price still has room for further growth. In a recent research report, the American investment bank Clear Street upgraded Circle's stock rating from "hold" to "buy" and raised the target price from $92 to $136. The institution believes that since early February, the adoption rate of the stablecoin USDC, which is pegged to the US dollar, has significantly increased, indicating that more Financial Institutions, Inc. and ordinary users are starting to use stablecoins for payments and cross-border transactions. As a result, Circle's stock price rose by 9% to $125.83 on Monday, reaching its highest level since October last year. Year-to-date, the company's stock price has accumulated a rise of about 46%. Data shows that the circulation of USDC exceeded $78 billion in December last year, then fell to about $70 billion at the end of January, but has recently risen again to a historical high of about $79 billion. Analysts point out that the disruption brought about by the Middle East conflict to the financial system and trading channels may have contributed to the increase in demand for stablecoins. Due to the widespread use of USDC for remittances and cross-border payments, its transaction properties are further highlighted when traditional financial channels are blocked. Clear Street analyst Owen Lau stated that amidst recent market volatility, the market capitalization of USDC continues to grow, while global stocks and encrypted asset markets have experienced fluctuations, indicating that the demand is more driven by real trading purposes rather than speculative funds. In addition to payment scenarios, the application of stablecoins in the financial sector is also expanding. For example, more and more institutions are tokenizing funds, that is, digitizing assets and trading them on the blockchain. Although these platforms may not necessarily settle only in USDC, due to its strong compliance and compatibility, USDC is becoming one of the main settlement currencies. Furthermore, the development of the prediction market may further increase the demand for USDC. The prediction trading platform Polymarket is planning to expand its operations in the US market, and such platforms mostly use USDC for trading settlements. Data shows that Polymarket alone facilitated approximately $22 billion in trades last year. Another new trend in the market that is being watched is Agentic AI. Industry experts believe that in the future, Agentic AI may automatically complete tasks such as booking flights, signing contracts, and even shopping payments, requiring round-the-clock digital wallets and instant settlement systems. Circle is developing the Arc blockchain protocol in hopes of providing underlying infrastructure for AI agent payments. Analysts point out that the growth of stablecoin business means that Circle's business model does not solely rely on fluctuations in the price of Bitcoin. Compared to traditional encrypted assets, the growth logic of payment-oriented stablecoins is more derived from the upgrade of financial infrastructure and digital payment needs. At the same time, the regulatory environment in the cryptocurrency industry may also affect capital inflows. The market is currently focused on the progress of the US Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (CLARITY Act), which involves issues such as whether stablecoin deposits can earn interest. With US President Trump calling for compromise on all sides, Clear Street expects that the relevant legislation may be passed by the end of this summer, providing a clearer regulatory framework for institutional funds to enter the digital asset market. Driven by the rebound in the prices of digital assets, several stocks related to cryptocurrencies have also risen simultaneously. The world's largest corporate Bitcoin holder, MicroStrategy (MSTR.US), recently disclosed that it had purchased approximately 22,337 bitcoins for about $1.57 billion between March 9th and this week Sunday. Meanwhile, the stock prices of the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (COIN.US) and the internet brokerage firm Robinhood (HOOD.US) have also seen increases. Data shows that the world's largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, has rebounded in the recent geopolitical tensions, rising by about 3.8% in the past 24 hours to around $74,000, resulting in a cumulative increase of about 10% since the US first launched an attack on Iran on February 28th.