- Why Circle stock has gone parabolic in May
May 12, 2026
Circle (CRCL) stock is on a red-hot run into the summer months.
The stablecoin issuer’s stock is up 38% to $135 in May, helped by a 16% pop on Monday following mixed earnings. The stock also got a jolt yesterday from a surprise $222 million token presale of ARC to investors led by BlackRock, a16z, Apollo, and others. (Disclosure: Yahoo is a portfolio company of funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management.)
“This is incremental revenue not in estimates, with potentially another sale round to follow (current round was presale) and other ancillary blockchain revenue opportunities,” Bernstein analyst Gautum Chhugani said in a note on Tuesday.
“As we head towards potential rate cuts, any incremental fee income helps Circle offset the short term impact, while raw USDC supply growth offsets any rate impact in the medium to long term. Thus, the ARC incremental revenues made Circle stock more digestible in the near term,” he said.
ARC is a native token for a blockchain Circle plans to launch. Chhugani reiterated an Outperform rating on Circle and a $190 price target.
Read more: How to start buying crypto for $100
The investment thesis on Circle has solidified in recent weeks.
Circle said on Monday that first quarter revenue and reserve income of $694 million increased 20% year over year. Adjusted operating profits increased by 24% from the previous year.Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire at the 2026 TIME100 Gala held at Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 23, 2026, in New York City. (John Nacion/Variety via Getty Images)·John Nacion via Getty Images
Circle co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire told Yahoo Finance (video above) that Big Tech players such as Meta (META) and DoorDash (DASH) have begun to use stablecoins. That undercut the market view that these companies would issue their own stablecoins and compete with Circle.
The stock has also gotten a boost from the Trump administration’s push for a more favorable regulatory framework. Last summer, President Trump signed the first federal legislation for dollar-pegged stablecoins like USDC (USDC-USD).
After much delay, the Senate Banking Committee is planning a markup hearing on Thursday on another major crypto bill, the CLARITY Act. The hope is that the bill is signed before August.
Allaire said the act’s eventual passing would be a milestone moment for Circle.
“We think passage of CLARITY would remove a key terminal risk overhang for Circle’s ability to grow USDC market cap via its distribution partners’ reward programs,” JPMorgan analyst Ken Worthington wrote in a note.
Brian Sozzi is Yahoo Finance's Executive Editor and a member of Yahoo Finance's editorial leadership team. Follow Sozzi on X @BrianSozzi, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Tips on stories? Email brian.sozzi@yahoofinance.com.
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- Why Circle Internet Stock Jumped 19% Monday Afternoon
May 11, 2026
Circle InternetGroup(NYSE: CRCL) reported earnings early Monday morning, sending the stablecoin issuer's stock sharply higher. The gains peaked at 19.4% around 2:40 p.m. ET, and the stock was still up by a hefty 15% just before the closing bell.Image source: The Motley Fool.
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The numbers weren't perfect, but the CEO had a speech ready
The USD Coin(CRYPTO: USDC) issuer's Q1 2026 report wasn't a clean sweep. $0.21 of diluted earnings per share exceeded Wall Street's consensus target at $0.18 per share, but $694 million in revenues fell short of analysts' $715 million estimate.
However, management framed the quarter as a transitional period amid a game-changing financial industry shake-up.
"We believe we are going through the largest platform shift in the history of the Internet and it is accelerating," CEO Jeremy Allaire said on the earnings call. "Specifically, this platform shift is the collision and compounding effect of new operating systems for intelligence and new operating systems for economic activity. These 2 major new technology infrastructures are converging into a new Internet stack that we believe will transform the global economic system over the coming decade."
Many investors get excited by forward-looking talk like that.
Stablecoin adoption is the real story here
There is now $77 billion of USD Coin in circulation, 28% above the year-ago period. Transaction volumes nearly quadrupled over the same period, so real-world usage of this next-generation accounting tool is soaring.
According to new Motley Fool research, about half of U.S. consumers would consider using stablecoins for everyday payments. Among the top use cases, Polymarket is funding and settling bets with the stablecoin and Meta Platforms(NASDAQ: META) offers USD Coin as an option for content creators' ad-based payouts.
"This is significant because just last year, there was a view that big tech companies would introduce their own stablecoins," Allaire said.
So the revenue miss didn't matter much today. Investors seem more interested in where the stablecoin puck is heading than where it's been, and Circle is skating hard to get there first.
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Why Circle Internet Stock Jumped 19% Monday Afternoon was originally published by The Motley Fool
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- Circle stock climbs 16% as stablecoin use cases grow
May 11, 2026
Circle Internet Group (CRCL) stock seesawed on Monday before landing 13% higher by midday. Shares climbed further to 16% by the close.
The stablecoin issuer reported its first quarter earnings amid a volatile year for crypto. Revenue climbed 20% year over year to $694 million, while earnings declined 15% to $55 million, or $0.21 per share. Analysts were expecting $46 million in profits and $721 million in total revenue.
However, investor optimism was lifted by higher stablecoin margins, a big token sale to institutions, and growing use-case opportunities.
NYSE - Nasdaq Real Time Price•USD
(CRCL)
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123.65 -8.11 (-6.16%)
At close: May 12 at 4:00:02 PM EDT Advanced Chart
Its flagship stablecoin, (USDC-USD), ended the first quarter with $77 billion in circulation. That’s a 28% increase from a year earlier and 2.3% from the end of 2025. Crucially, the company earned a higher margin on its stablecoin reserves during the period, signaling less dependence on third-party platforms like crypto exchanges Coinbase Global (COIN) and Binance.
“They’re getting more of the volume from their platform, which means they’re relying less on some of the third-party platforms,” Mizuho analyst Dan Dolev said in an interview, adding that the company is steadily growing use cases for stablecoins.
“Shares will probably remain volatile,” William Blair analyst Andrew Jeffrey wrote to clients. “But our view is that investor focus will shift from short-term considerations…to Circle’s significant stablecoin commerce competitive advantage,” Jeffrey added.
Read more: How stablecoins workCEO and co-founder of Circle Internet Group Jeremy Allaire speaks on the day of his company's IPO at the New York Stock Exchange on June 5, 2025. (Reuters/Brendan McDermid)·REUTERS / Reuters
Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire described the usage growth of the firm’s stablecoin as “extraordinary” during an interview with Yahoo Finance. He also pointed to the company’s future opportunity to facilitate AI agent payments.
“We believe we are going through the largest platform shift in the history of the internet, and it is accelerating,” Allaire said.
Circle left its guidance unchanged while adding that it expects to share revisions in the second quarter.
The company went public last summer in a blockbuster IPO as the first US publicly listed stablecoin issuer. After skyrocketing in the days following that listing, shares are still down more than 50% from their high. However, Circle stock is up 56% on the year.
Stablecoins are crypto tokens with prices pegged to another asset, most often US dollars. Because their prices fluctuate far less than those of other cryptocurrencies, these digital assets play a key role in the crypto world, primarily for traders seeking a safe haven during volatile crypto market conditions.
NYSE - Nasdaq Real Time Price•USD
(CRCL)
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123.65 -8.11 (-6.16%)
At close: May 12 at 4:00:02 PM EDT Advanced Chart
But the larger ambition for Circle and many other crypto players is for stablecoins to gain wider adoption in cross-border transactions and online commerce. This includes the newer frontier of so-called agentic commerce, where artificial intelligence agents autonomously conduct buying and selling.
Story Continues
Circle announced on Monday that it’s rolling out a suite of tools for software programmers and AI agents to more easily use USDC. In late April, Meta quietly rolled out support for paying content creators in USDC, starting with workers in Colombia and the Philippines. Earlier this year, Circle notched an infrastructure partnership with predictions market Polymarket.
In a sign that big institutions are continuing to invest in the firm’s efforts, Circle also said Monday that it sold $222 million of Arc, the native token of a new blockchain it’s planning to launch. The investor group included Apollo Global Management, Andreessen Horowitz, BlackRock, and New York Stock Exchange parent company Intercontinental Exchange. (Disclosure: Yahoo is a portfolio company of funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management.)
Circle’s USDC has been a big winner from the Trump administration’s push to make the US a major crypto hub by ushering in a favorable regulatory framework. Last summer, President Trump signed the first federal legislation for dollar-pegged stablecoins like USDC.
After much delay, the Senate Banking Committee is planning a markup hearing Thursday on another major crypto bill, known as the CLARITY Act. The hope is that the bill is signed before August.
“We’ve been very clear that the network affects liquidity and global reach of our network, along with sound regulation, make USDC the preferred option for major enterprises integrating this technology,” Allaire told analysts on Monday.
David Hollerith covers the financial sector, ranging from the country's biggest banks to regional lenders, private equity firms, and the cryptocurrency space.
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- Circle stock climbs 13% as stablecoin use cases grow
May 11, 2026
Circle Internet Group (CRCL) stock sawsawed on Monday before landing 13% higher by midday.
The stablecoin issuer reported its first quarter earnings amid a volatile year for crypto. Revenue climbed 20% year over year to $694 million, while earnings declined 15% to $55 million, or $0.21 per share. Analysts were expecting $46 million in profits and $721 million in total revenue.
However, investor optimism was lifted by higher stablecoin margins, a big token sale to institutions, and growing use-case opportunities.
NYSE - Nasdaq Real Time Price•USD
(CRCL)
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128.31 +14.64 (+12.88%)
As of 12:55:08 PM EDT. Market Open. Advanced Chart
Its flagship stablecoin, (USDC-USD), ended the first quarter with $77 billion in circulation. That’s a 28% increase from a year earlier and 2.3% from the end of 2025. Crucially, the company earned a higher margin on its stablecoin reserves during the period, signaling less dependence on third-party platforms like crypto exchanges Coinbase (COIN) and Binance.
“They’re getting more of the volume from their platform, which means they’re relying less on some of the other third-party platforms,” Mizuho analyst Dan Dolev said in an interview, adding that the company is steadily growing use cases for stablecoins.
Read more: How stablecoins workCEO and co-founder of Circle Internet Group Jeremy Allaire speaks on the day of his company's IPO at the New York Stock Exchange on June 5, 2025. (Reuters/Brendan McDermid)·REUTERS / Reuters
Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire described the usage growth of the firm’s stablecoin as “extraordinary” during an interview with Yahoo Finance. He also pointed to the company’s future opportunity to facilitate AI agent payments.
“We believe we are going through the largest platform shift in the history of the internet, and it is accelerating,” Allaire said.
Circle left its guidance unchanged while adding that it expects to share revisions in the second quarter.
The company went public last summer in a blockbuster IPO as the first US publicly listed stablecoin issuer. After skyrocketing in the days following that listing, shares are still down more than 50% from their high. However, Circle stock is up 56% on the year.
Stablecoins are crypto tokens with prices pegged to another asset, most often US dollars. Because their prices fluctuate far less than those of other cryptocurrencies, these digital assets play a key role in the crypto world, primarily for traders seeking a safe haven during volatile crypto market conditions.
NYSE - Nasdaq Real Time Price•USD
(CRCL)
Follow View Quote Details
128.31 +14.64 (+12.88%)
As of 12:55:08 PM EDT. Market Open. Advanced Chart
But the larger ambition for Circle and many other crypto players is for stablecoins to gain wider adoption in cross-border transactions and online commerce. This includes the newer frontier of so-called agentic commerce, where artificial intelligence agents autonomously conduct buying and selling.
Circle announced on Monday that it’s rolling out a suite of tools for software programmers and AI agents to more easily use USDC. In late April, Meta quietly rolled out support for paying content creators in USDC, starting with workers in Colombia and the Philippines. Earlier this year, Circle notched an infrastructure partnership with predictions market Polymarket.
Story Continues
In a sign that big institutions are continuing to invest in the firm’s efforts, Circle also said Monday that it sold $222 million of Arc, the native token of a new blockchain it’s planning to launch. The investor group included Apollo Global Management, Andreessen Horowitz, BlackRock, and New York Stock Exchange parent company Intercontinental Exchange. (Disclosure: Yahoo is a portfolio company of funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management.)
Circle’s USDC has been a big winner from the Trump administration’s push to make the US a major crypto hub by ushering in a favorable regulatory framework. Last summer, President Trump signed the first federal legislation for dollar-pegged stablecoins like USDC.
After much delay, the Senate Banking Committee is planning a markup hearing Thursday on another major crypto bill, known as the CLARITY Act. The hope is that the bill is signed before August.
“We’ve been very clear that the network affects liquidity and global reach of our network, along with sound regulation, make USDC the preferred option for major enterprises integrating this technology,” Allaire told analysts on Monday.
David Hollerith covers the financial sector, ranging from the country's biggest banks to regional lenders, private equity firms, and the cryptocurrency space.
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- Circle raises $222M in Arc token presale from BlackRock, a16z
May 11, 2026
Circle raised $222 million in a presale of the native token for Arc, its new public blockchain, valuing the network at $3 billion on a fully diluted basis, the company said Sunday.
Andreessen Horowitz led the raise with a $75 million investment, according to CNBC. Other investors include BlackRock, Apollo Funds, Intercontinental Exchange, SBI Group, Janus Henderson Investors, Standard Chartered Ventures, General Catalyst, Marshall Wace, ARK Invest, IDG Capital, Haun Ventures, and Bullish.
Institutional finance is the target market for Arc, which Circle has built as a public blockchain. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire described it as an operating system for economic activity that goes beyond stablecoins and payments. "We're becoming a broader internet platform company," Allaire told CNBC. "We're entering the operating system business and we're doing it by building this multi-stakeholder distributed model with a token, with a distributed network."
The token supply at launch will total 10 billion, with Circle claiming a 25% stake that entitles it to run validator nodes, collect fees, and receive staking rewards. Sixty percent is earmarked for the broader ecosystem — developers, users, and others who contribute to the network — while the final 15% is set aside in a long-term reserve, according to CNBC.
Allaire framed Arc as a response to the rise of AI-driven economic activity. "We're entering this era where software machines will power the economic system," he told CNBC. "Software will do most of the work — that is what AI agents represent." Circle also announced a set of tools for developers building AI agents that can manage transactions and make payments using USDC.
No publicly listed company had previously run a token presale, making Circle a first in that regard, according to CNBC. Such raises — historically known as initial coin offerings, or ICOs — give companies a way to fund development and cultivate a user base ahead of a network's debut. The format surged to notoriety during the 2017 crypto frenzy and has since regained momentum as the Trump administration has taken a friendlier stance toward digital assets.
Circle also reported first-quarter results on Sunday. Total revenue and reserve income reached $694 million in the quarter, up 20% from a year earlier. USDC in circulation stood at $77 billion at the end of the quarter, up 28%, while USDC onchain transaction volume reached $21.5 trillion, up 263%. Net income from continuing operations was $55 million, down 15% year over year.
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- Congressional Progress on Clarity Act Buoys Spirits in Crypto Circles
May 11, 2026
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There’s finally some clarity on the Clarity Act, a piece of legislation expected to pave the way for crypto’s mainstreaming.
The head of legal affairs at Coinbase expects the Clarity Act to pass by summer’s end, now that banks and crypto companies have reached a compromise regarding stablecoin rewards. Coinbase walked away from the act in January, when CEO Brian Armstrong wrote on X that no bill is better than a bad bill. He argued that banks were trying to shut down competition from crypto competitors by banning them from offering customers rewards for holding stablecoins on their platforms. Banks said that the system operated too similarly to traditional savings accounts.
Now, Armstrong’s saying, “Mark it up,” meaning send it to the Senate Banking Committee for a hearing known as a markup. The revised Clarity Act lets customers earn rewards for activities like trading or staking, but not for just letting stablecoin sit in their accounts.
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READ ALSO: Cerebras Challenges Nvidia’s Chip Dominance with Highly Hyped IPO and Hantavirus Trade Stalls as Officials Say Risk to Public Ranges from “Low” to “Very, Very Low”
Wall Street’s Warm Welcome
The act’s progress through the Senate raised investor hopes. Shares of Stablecoin issuer Circle, which reports earnings today, surged 20% shortly after the compromise came out. Coinbase, the main platform that distributes Circle’s USDC coin, jumped more than 6%. Bitcoin, meanwhile, broke past $80,000 for the first time since January.
By getting the nod of approval from both big banks and regulators, crypto companies can start working with Wall Street to integrate blockchain tech into traditional financial architecture:
Circle’s SVP of marketing said at Consensus Miami’s annual crypto conference last week that stablecoins could become a part of digital payments in a way that users won’t even notice. Stablecoins could be used to conduct transactions faster and cheaper than traditional payment rails. Chainalysis expects the number of on-chain stablecoin transactions to match off-chain Visa and Mastercard transactions sometime in the 2030s. The Clarity Act’s passage could prompt more traditional financial institutions to lean into the shift by supporting stablecoin payments, partnering with crypto companies, or issuing their own stablecoins.
A New Look: Proponents of the Clarity Act expect it to help crypto change from jeans and a hoodie to a suit and tie. Also at Consensus Miami, Binance’s CMO likened the moment to crypto moving past its Prohibition-era stage into an infrastructure-building phase. Stablecoins are the most palatable part of the crypto ecosystem for regulators and Wall Street, and could serve as an entry point for other parts of the crypto-verse to be considered.
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- Coinbase outlines 2026 adjusted expenses of $4.3B-$4.6B while shifting to an AI-native operating model
May 8, 2026
Earnings Call Insights: Coinbase Global, Inc. (COIN) Q1 2026
MANAGEMENT VIEW
* "We faced headwinds with a softer trading market this quarter, but we executed well on what was in our control." (Co-Founder, Chairman & CEO Brian Armstrong)
* "We saw a huge growth in derivatives trading volume driven by our Everything Exchange." (CEO Armstrong)
* "Derivatives trading is now over $200 million in annualized revenue." (CEO Armstrong)
* "Prediction markets are scaling fast, reaching $100 million in annualized revenue in March. That's just 2 months after launch." (CEO Armstrong)
* "We continue to grow share globally and reached a new all-time high." (CEO Armstrong)
* "We hit a new all-time high in USDC held in Coinbase products and saw 10x year-over-year growth in stablecoin transactions on Base." (CEO Armstrong)
* "In Q1 2026, we generated $1.4 billion of total revenue, a quarterly net loss of $394 million and $303 million of positive adjusted EBITDA." (Chief Financial Officer Alesia Haas)
* "I want to introduce you all to Shan Aggarwal. Shan is our Chief Business Officer, and he's our newest Head of Investor Relations." (CFO Haas)
OUTLOOK
* "We expect subscription and services revenue in the range of $565 million to $645 million, with an opportunity for quarter-over-quarter growth." (CFO Haas)
* "We expect technology and development and general and administrative expenses to continue to come down sequentially with a range of $820 million to $870 million in Q2, down 4% to 9% from the first quarter." (CFO Haas)
* "We expect to incur $50 million to $60 million in restructuring expenses related to the head count reduction we announced earlier this week." (CFO Haas)
* "We are transitioning to be an AI-native company." (CFO Haas)
* "We expect 2026 adjusted expenses to be between $4.3 billion and $4.6 billion." (CFO Haas)
* "This is roughly $500 million lower than our Q4 2025 annualized exit rate at the midpoint." (CFO Haas)
FINANCIAL RESULTS
* "Total revenue for Q1 was down 21% quarter-over-quarter, reflecting the softer market backdrop." (CFO Haas)
* "Drilling into our transaction revenue of $756 million, consumer was $567 million." (CFO Haas)
* "On the institutional side, revenue of $136 million declined 27% alongside volumes." (CFO Haas)
* "Subscription and services revenue was $584 million, down 16% quarter-over-quarter." (CFO Haas)
* "Stablecoin revenue was $305 million." (CFO Haas)
* "Average USDC held in Coinbase products reached a new all-time high of $19 billion." (CFO Haas)
* "Blockchain rewards were $101 million." (CFO Haas)
* "Interest and finance fee revenue was $68 million, up 13% quarter-over-quarter." (CFO Haas)
* "Average daily loan balances reached $1.4 billion." (CFO Haas)
* "Coinbase One, now over 1 million paid subscribers." (CFO Haas)
* "In Q1, we repurchased approximately 6 million shares for $1.1 billion." (CFO Haas)
* "We ended the quarter with over $10 billion in cash and cash equivalents and total available resources of $12 billion." (CFO Haas)
* "Our 2026 convertible notes are due on June 1... we do intend to retire the $1.3 billion obligation." (CFO Haas)
Q&A
* James Yaro, Goldman Sachs: "could you comment on the status of the CLARITY Act?" Paul Grewal, Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary: "we are confident that the bill is going to head to markup this month with a floor vote to follow in early summer... we're going to see a signed piece of legislation by the end of the summer."
* Ken Worthington, JPMorgan: "what are the things that you expect to see over the next year in terms of who new will be participating in the crypto ecosystem?" CEO Armstrong: "it will create a lot of opportunities... it will just unlock a lot of institutional capital that will flow into the space broadly."
* Peter Christiansen, Citi: "would changes in stablecoin rewards policy lead to changes in contractual revenue share mechanics with Circle?" CLO Grewal: "the contracts that we have in place in Circle are set." CFO Haas: "the revenue share is tied to overall USDC supply and adoption, and it's really unaffected by any rewards language."
* @Architect9000: "It was fairly alarming... that nontechnical developers are pushing code -- AI code into production." CEO Armstrong: "human engineers still review all code before it goes into production." CFO Haas: "our investment in integration testing is exceeding the pace of our growth in new pull requests."
* Ramsey El-Assal, Cantor Fitzgerald: "update on the competitive environment" Emilie Choi, President & COO: "We reached an all-time high in Coinbase crypto trading volume market share in Q1... Our market share has grown roughly 5x since Q1 2023."
* Andrew Jeffrey, William Blair: "stablecoin movement infrastructure ambitions" President Choi: "We have a vertically integrated stack that no other company in the world owns end-to-end... We are the platform that powers stablecoins."
* Rayna Kumar, Oppenheimer: "how meaningful could transaction fees on Base and from the x402 facilitator really become?" CEO Armstrong: "99% of the x402 transactions right now are settled in USDC... 90% of the agentic stablecoin transaction volumes were settled on Base in Q1."
* Patrick Moley, Piper Sandler: "monetization time line" CFO Haas: "the Everything Exchange is already moving the needle."
* Owen Lau, Clear Street: "update on launching crypto options trading in the U.S." CFO Haas: "we expect to be fully integrated in 2026... On the U.S. specifically, I cannot give you a time line on today's call, but we're actively working on it and very optimistic."
* Devin Ryan, Citizens: "timing and magnitude of that shift" CEO Armstrong: "we've been investing in the Everything Exchange... subscription and services... is now 44% of our net revenue."
* Alex Markgraff, KBCM: "walk us through the RIF" CFO Haas: "the restructuring reflects two forces acting simultaneously" and "the actions removed about $500 million of total costs as compared to the Q4 2025 run rate."
* @presidentnoble: "Do you plan on lowering fees?" CFO Haas: "Our clients are not choosing us because we're the cheapest" and "fees could come down as things become commoditized." CEO Armstrong: "with a Coinbase One subscription, they can get 0 fee trading."
* John Todaro, Needham & Co.: "frame up the institutional interest" President Choi: "Lower volatility reduced hedging demand, specifically at Deribit" and "Average daily loan balances hit an all-time high of $1.4 billion."
SENTIMENT ANALYSIS
* "we are confident" and "very excited" were repeated around regulation and product expansion, including: "we are confident that the bill is going to head to markup this month" (Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary Grewal).
* Analysts’ tone centered on risks to monetization, regulation, fees, and AI process controls, including: "It was fairly alarming" (@Architect9000) and "Do you plan on lowering fees?" (@presidentnoble).
* Compared with the prior quarter’s optimism about progress, the emphasis shifted from "I'm actually quite optimistic that we'll get something through here in the next few months" (CEO Armstrong, Q4 2025) to a more time-specific expectation: "a signed piece of legislation by the end of the summer" (CLO Grewal, Q1 2026).
QUARTER-OVER-QUARTER COMPARISON
* Investor relations leadership changed from "Anil Gupta - Vice President of Investor Relations" (Q4 2025) to "Shan is our Chief Business Officer, and he's our newest Head of Investor Relations." (CFO Haas, Q1 2026)
* The call’s market framing shifted from Q4’s emphasis on diversification and investment posture to Q1’s cost and operating model pivot, including: "we are transitioning to be an AI-native company" (CFO Haas).
* Q4 described early Everything Exchange progress ("We launched the Everything Exchange in Q4 and are seeing early signs of success." (CEO Armstrong, Q4 2025)), while Q1 quantified traction via annualized revenue run-rates for "Derivatives" and "Prediction markets" (CEO Armstrong, Q1 2026).
* Guidance language moved from Q4’s Q1 ranges ("subscription and services revenue... $550 million to $630 million" (CFO Haas, Q4 2025)) to Q1’s Q2 ranges and a new annual expense framework ("2026 adjusted expenses... $4.3 billion and $4.6 billion" (CFO Haas, Q1 2026)).
RISKS AND CONCERNS
* "macro conditions were genuinely tough" including: "Total crypto market cap and total crypto trading volume were both down more than 20% quarter-over-quarter." (CFO Haas)
* "volatility in the long tail assets was at historic lows." (CFO Haas)
* "we're actively working on it" but "I cannot give you a time line" for U.S. crypto options. (CFO Haas)
* "the details do matter a lot here" and "there remain a lot of rules that still need to be written" on CLARITY’s downstream impacts. (CLO Grewal)
FINAL TAKEAWAY
Coinbase’s Q1 narrative paired a softer trading environment with quantified traction in newer products under the Everything Exchange, alongside continued emphasis on stablecoins, Base, and agentic commerce. Management framed a near-term cost reset through restructuring and a stated transition to "an AI-native company," while providing Q2 ranges for subscription and services and for core operating expenses, plus a full-year adjusted expense range of $4.3 billion to $4.6 billion. Regulation remained a central investor focus, with management repeatedly using "confident" language on the CLARITY Act timeline while noting that final impacts depend on details and subsequent rulemaking.
Read the full Earnings Call Transcript [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/coin/earnings/transcripts]
MORE ON COINBASE
* Coinbase Global, Inc. (COIN) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4900862-coinbase-global-inc-coin-q1-2026-earnings-call-transcript]
* Coinbase Global, Inc. 2026 Q1 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4900815-coinbase-global-inc-2026-q1-results-earnings-call-presentation]
* Coinbase: Bitcoin's Rising Tide Masks A Retail Moat In Structural Decline [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4893322-coinbase-bitcoin-rising-tide-masks-a-retail-moat-in-structural-decline]
* Stocks to watch on Thursday after hours: COIN, NET, OPEN, EXPE [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4589196-stocks-to-watch-on-thursday-after-hours-coin-net-open-expe]
* Coinbase stock slumps as Q1 earnings miss estimates on soft market environment [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4589057-coinbase-stock-slumps-as-q1-earnings-miss-estimates-on-soft-market-environment]
- Elizabeth Warren seeks information on Meta’s latest stablecoin plans in letter to Mark Zuckerberg
May 7, 2026
Meta rolled out a stablecoin pilot on Facebook last week following years of false starts, and it didn’t take long before a familiar antagonist took notice. On Wednesday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) delivered a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg calling its “lack of transparency” surrounding its stablecoin plans “troubling” and seeking answers to a range of questions surrounding Meta’s stablecoin integration, according to a copy of the letter obtained by Fortune.
In the letter, the ranking member on the Senate Banking Committee argued that given Meta’s massive global userbase, any kind of stablecoin activity on the platform could have “serious implications for competition, privacy, the integrity of our payments system, and financial stability.”
Warren added that Congress needs to understand the extent of Meta’s plans for stablecoins, which are a type of cryptocurrency pegged to the dollar, during a time when lawmakers are working to pass a bill related to crypto market structure.
Some of the questions raised in Warren’s letter to Meta were partially answered last week, when a website update revealed that Facebook had quietly rolled out stablecoin payments for some creators in Colombia and the Philippines.
The program involved Circle’s USDC stablecoin and requires users to add third-party wallet addresses to their Facebook accounts, meaning that crypto integration within Meta currently remains limited.
“We have repeatedly conveyed directly to Sen. Warren that there is no Meta stablecoin. We have also told Sen. Warren we want people and businesses to be able to pay the way they want on our platforms, which may include through third-party stablecoin. More information can be found in our Help Center here,” a spokesperson for Meta told Fortune.
Meta is no stranger to facing scrutiny from lawmakers over its crypto plans. In 2019, the company (then named Facebook) announced plans to roll out a stablecoin named Libra, later changing the project’s name to Diem following a wave of backlash.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg was brought before the House Financial Services committee later that year to defend the company’s crypto plans. At the time, Zuckerberg was already locking horns with Warren, who advocated breaking up Big Tech companies. By 2022, the company shuttered the effort amid unrelenting regulatory pressure.
Warren has long been one of Congress’ most vociferous crypto skeptics—especially when it comes to Meta. The Massachusetts senator penned a letter with Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) last year expressing concern over Meta’s stablecoin plans, including the possibility of Meta rekindling efforts to launch its own stablecoin.
Story Continues
In their 2025 letter, the Senators cited USDC, with which Meta has now integrated, as potentially risky, pointing out that the token lost its dollar peg and traded as low as $0.88 during the Silicon Valley Bank collapse in 2023. Warren and Blumenthal also teamed up with Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) for a letter last month questioning President Trump’s business associate Bill Zanker over the TRUMP memecoin.
The Meta letter comes as Warren’s Senate committee appears to be making progress on the CLARITY Act, a bill creating a regulatory framework for crypto. Senate Banking Committee chairman Tim Scott (R-S.C.) has said he hopes to bring the bill to a markup this month.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
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- Circle to Report Earnings in 4 Days: This Is Why It's Important for USDC
May 7, 2026
Circle to Report Earnings in 4 Days: This Is Why It's Important for USDC
- Prophet launches AI-powered prediction market with live $10,000 trading tranche
May 6, 2026
CAPE TOWN, South Africa, May 06, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Prophet, an AI-native prediction market platform, has launched its first live trading tranche, introducing a system where an AI model acts as the counterparty to user trades using real capital.
The initial deployment allocates $10,000 in USDC to an AI-powered trading system and opens participation to users on the platform. Instead of matching buyers and sellers, the system allows users to trade directly against the AI, which generates probability-based pricing for each market.
What has launched
Prophet’s “Tranche 1” is a limited-access deployment designed to test the system under live market conditions. Users who deposit gain the ability to create markets, with the AI pricing each market upon creation. Once live, markets can be traded by other participants.
The AI system takes the opposing side of every trade, absorbing directional risk based on its probability estimates. Markets can resolve within relatively short timeframes, with some contracts settling in as little as 24 hours.
According to the team, the initial tranche is intended as a controlled test of system performance using real capital and user interaction.
One model, one probability
A key feature of the platform is its pricing mechanism. The system aggregates outputs from multiple large language models, including those developed by OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, xAI, DeepSeek, and Meta. These models independently evaluate each market question, with Prophet combining their outputs into a single probability estimate.
The same architecture is used for market resolution. When a market reaches its deadline, the system evaluates real-world outcomes and settles the contract without a formal dispute process.
The team notes that this approach is experimental and may be subject to limitations in interpretation or accuracy.
Why the prediction market industry is watching
Prediction markets have seen significant growth in recent years, though most platforms continue to rely on human counterparties and manual or committee-based resolution.
Prophet’s model introduces a different structure, where liquidity and settlement are managed programmatically. This may allow for faster market creation and resolution, though its effectiveness at scale remains to be assessed.
Trading as system feedback
The platform is designed to incorporate trading activity into its development cycle. Each trade generates data on pricing accuracy, while each market expands the range of scenarios the system must evaluate.
According to the team, this feedback loop is expected to inform improvements to the model in future tranches.
Risks and limitations
The current version operates without a formal dispute mechanism. Market outcomes are determined by AI-based interpretation, which may be subject to error.
The initial $10,000 allocation is limited relative to broader market standards, and the tranche is positioned as a testing phase rather than a full-scale deployment.
Regulatory considerations may also apply, as AI-driven prediction markets represent an emerging category with evolving oversight frameworks.
Next steps
Tranche 1 is scheduled to run through May 8, 2026. The team plans to use data from this phase to refine pricing, resolution, and system design ahead of future deployments.
Subsequent tranches are expected to expand capital allocation and user access.
About Prophet
Prophet is a machine that predicts the future. An AI with a bankroll trades directly against users, allowing for any market to be opened instantly. Prophet is solving liquidity and resolution for the long tail of prediction markets.
Platform: app.prophetmarket.aiX: @prophetmarketaiWebsite: prophetmarket.ai
Media contact
Eneo Hollenbach
Chief Marketing Officer
team@prophetmarket.ai
Disclaimer: This sponsored content is provided by the content provider and does not necessarily reflect the views of this media platform or its publisher. The information is shared for general informational purposes only and should not be considered financial, investment, or trading advice. Cryptocurrency and mining-related activities carry risks, including the potential loss of capital, and readers are encouraged to conduct their own research and seek professional advice where appropriate. Speculate only with funds that you can afford to lose.The media platform and publisher assume no responsibility for any losses or claims arising from reliance on this content. GlobeNewswire does not endorse any content on this page.
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