Circle shares drop 10% as Stripe, Visa, Mastercard target stablecoins

Circle Internet Group ($CRCL) shares slid 10.63 percent to $90.13 on Monday after reports that Stripe, Visa and Mastercard are preparing stablecoin platforms, intensifying competitive pressure on the issuer of the USDC stablecoin.

"The next phase of stablecoin adoption is about real-world utility, especially in settlement, where timing and liquidity matter most," Raj Dhamodharan, executive vice president of blockchain and digital assets at Mastercard, said in a statement.

Mastercard said Wednesday it will begin settling transactions in regulated U.S. dollar stablecoins including Circle's USDC, Paxos-issued PYUSD, USDG and USDP, Ripple's RLUSD and SoFiUSD. The settlement framework will operate across Ethereum, Solana, Polygon, Base, Arbitrum and XRPL, allowing intraday, weekend and holiday settlement alongside existing fiat processes. Financial institutions including Cross River, Lead Bank, CBW Bank, ARQ and Nuvei are expected to be among the first participants.

The competitive threat comes as stablecoins move beyond crypto trading into mainstream payment infrastructure. Stripe has been building its own stablecoin infrastructure, while Visa has deepened its stablecoin settlement capabilities. For Circle, which went public via a SPAC merger in 2025, the entry of three of the largest payment networks into stablecoin settlement could erode USDC's market share and fee revenue over time. The stock briefly traded as high as $99.15 before closing at $90.13, giving the company a market valuation of roughly $18 billion based on its outstanding share count.

Mastercard's expansion into stablecoin settlement represents a structural shift in how payment networks view digital dollars. Traditionally, card transactions are authorized instantly but settled in batches during banking hours. The new framework moves Mastercard closer to an always-on model where value can be transferred around the clock. For Circle, which has positioned USDC as the settlement layer for the internet, the risk is that payment giants adopt stablecoins broadly but reduce reliance on any single issuer. The company's next earnings report, expected in August, will provide the first detailed look at whether competitive pressure is affecting USDC's circulating supply and fee income.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.