CRCL's Arc Adoption Expands: Is a New Revenue Engine Taking Shape?

AAPL TSLA AMZN META AMD NVDA PEP COST ADBE GOOG AMGN HON INTC INTU NFLX ADP SBUX MRNA AAPL TSLA AMZN META AMD NVDA PEP COST ADBE GOOG AMGN HON INTC INTU NFLX ADP SBUX MRNA AAPL TSLA AMZN META AMD NVDA PEP COST ADBE GOOG AMGN HON INTC INTU NFLX ADP SBUX MRNA Stocks CRCL's Arc Adoption Expands: Is a New Revenue Engine Taking Shape? December 17, 2025 — 11:50 am EST Written by Zacks Equity Research for Zacks-> Circle Internet Group CRCL is laying the groundwork for its next growth phase by expanding Arc adoption. With the successful launch of Arc’s public testnet and participation from more than 100 global institutions across banking, payments, capital markets and digital assets, the company is signaling a shift from being primarily a stablecoin issuer toward becoming a full-stack financial infrastructure platform.Rather than focusing on near-term transaction fees, Circle is first building a broad ecosystem of developers, enterprises and institutions. This approach mirrors successful platform strategies in cloud and software, where adoption and stickiness lead to long-term pricing power.Arc is already integrated across Circle’s broader platform, including USDC, tokenized assets such as USYC, and the Circle Payments Network. This integration strengthens network effects and increases the likelihood that Arc becomes embedded in enterprise workflows over time. Management’s exploration of a native Arc token could further align incentives and open up future monetization opportunities.While Arc is still in the early stages and its mainnet launch is planned for 2026, strong institutional interest and Circle’s infrastructure-first strategy point to solid long-term potential. As adoption scales, Arc could help reduce reliance on interest-sensitive reserve income and support higher-margin platform revenues. Reflecting this prospect, the Zacks Consensus Estimate projects 2026 revenues to rise 18.2% year over year to $3.22 billion.Where Does CRCL Stand Against Competitors?As the largest U.S. crypto exchange, Coinbase Global COIN is a key competitor to Circle in stablecoin distribution and crypto payments. COIN’s massive user base, liquidity and broad platform support USDC adoption, but the company’s revenues remain highly sensitive to trading cycles and market downturns. In contrast, CRCL’s focused, fee-based stablecoin model offers simpler execution and potentially more durable growth than COIN’s cyclical, complex ecosystem.PayPal PYPL competes with Circle via PYUSD in blockchain payments and consumer stablecoin adoption. PYPL leverages its vast PayPal and Venmo networks to drive usage at scale, giving the company an immediate distribution edge. However, compared with its platform-centric approach, CRCL remains more blockchain-native and infrastructure-focused, positioning it as a neutral stablecoin provider rather than a closed-ecosystem payments giant like PYPL. CRCL’s Share Price Performance, Valuation & EstimatesIn the trailing six-month period, Circle’s stock has declined 58.4%, lagging behind the broader Zacks Finance sector, which returned 11.2% and the Zacks Financial - Miscellaneous Services industry, which lost 4.2%.CRCL’s Six Month Price PerformanceImage Source: Zacks Investment ResearchFrom a valuation standpoint, CRCL appears overvalued, trading at a forward 12-month price-to-sales ratio of 6.11, higher than the industry's average of 3.36. The company carries a Value Score of D.CRCL’s ValuationImage Source: Zacks Investment ResearchThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 earnings is pegged at a loss of 87 cents per share, unchanged over the past 30 days. The consensus estimate for 2026 earnings is currently pegged at 92 cents per share and has remained steady over the past 30 days. Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchCircle currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. 5 Stocks Set to Double Each was handpicked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in the coming year. While not all picks can be winners, previous recommendations have soared +112%, +171%, +209% and +232%. Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report PayPal Holdings, Inc. (PYPL) : Free Stock Analysis ReportCoinbase Global, Inc. (COIN) : Free Stock Analysis ReportCircle Internet Group, Inc. (CRCL) : Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment Research The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. Tags StocksInvesting Zacks Zacks is the leading investment research firm focusing on stock research, analysis and recommendations. In 1978, our founder discovered the power of earnings estimate revisions to enable profitable investment decisions. Today, that discovery is still the heart of the Zacks Rank. A wealth of resources for individual investors is available at www.zacks.com. More articles by this source-> Stocks mentioned PYPL COIN CRCL More Related Articles This data feed is not available at this time. Data is currently not available • Sign up for the TradeTalks newsletter to receive your weekly dose of trading news, trends and education. 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