Circle Shares Tumble 10% on “Sell” Rating, Drift Protocol Scandal

USDC issuer Circle has seen its stock (NYSE: CRCL) tumble by 9.89% over the past day, closing at $85.10. The fall was attributed to an unfavorable analyst review and to its alleged inaction during the Drift Protocol exploit.

Source: MarketWatch 

Why did Circle’s shares dip by about 10%?

Financial analyst Ed Engel of Compass Point Investment Bank downgraded the stock from “neutral” to “sell”. He also cut its valuation to $77, citing thinning margins from Circle’s stablecoin yield-sharing initiative. Under this “pay-to-play” approach, Circle generated $2.75B in total revenue for 2025 but paid out roughly half — $1.35B — to Coinbase.

The analyst also noted USDC’s underperformance in terms of supply growth. Here, figures fell to 73% in 2025, down from 820%+ in 2021.

Another reason for the dip is the company’s recent scandal dubbed the Circle Files. Onchain investigator ZachXBT accused the company of failing to promptly freeze the proceeds of fraud and theft, including those from the Drift Protocol.

New players such as Sky (USDS) have also begun challenging USDC. The combined dominance of USDC and USDT fell to 83.6% in late 2025 from a peak of 91.6% in 2024.

Source: KuCoin

Outside the firm, Circle stock is down 26.24% over the past month due to macroeconomic and regional-conflict-related shocks.

Most importantly, the stablecoin-impacting CLARITY Act remains in limbo as key parties disagree on yield-bearing incentives.

Revenue diversification and regulatory compliance

In a bid to diversify its revenue sources, the firm launched the institutional-grade settlement platform, Circle Payments Network, and appointed Amazon’s former CEO, Adam Selipsky, to its Board of Directors.

Meanwhile, Circle’s flagship product, USDC, remains the main selling point, with Chainalysis predicting $1.5 quadrillion in trading volume by 2035. Institutional demand for USDC rose so high on April 7 that Circle minted a billion USDC in a 24h period.

As for the ZachXBT expose, Circle stressed its regulatory compliance, saying it freezes assets only when mandated by law as part of its consumer protection initiatives.