Finance10 August, 20262 min read
Bitwise’s Ryan Rasmussen Says Circle Is Undervalued as Stablecoin Market Nears $5 Trillion
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Stablecoin market could reach $3–5 trillion from about $300 billion today. Investors underestimate Circle's opportunity as stablecoins expand.
Trillions Ahead for Stablecoins
Bitwise Head of Research Ryan Rasmussen said the stablecoin market could expand from roughly $300 billion to between $3 trillion and $5 trillion within the next few years, framing Circle’s opportunity as undervalued. Rasmussen told CoinDesk that Circle is “very mispriced by the market” as investors remain focused on Circle’s reserve-based business rather than its payments infrastructure.
In the same CoinDesk interview, Rasmussen said Circle is building infrastructure designed to facilitate payments in a stablecoin-driven financial system and projected that within five years Circle could become a major player beyond stablecoins. Rasmussen also argued that as U.S. stablecoin regulation takes shape, Circle’s existing market share gives it “a favorable position based on its existing market share.”
Circle’s Payments Bet
Rasmussen said Circle’s payments infrastructure could become its “second business,” and he expected the company to be “not only a stablecoin giant, but a payment giant” as stablecoins move toward a multi-trillion-dollar market. He described Circle’s Arc blockchain as a layer-1 blockchain designed to facilitate stablecoin payment activity, and he said investors should watch whether that infrastructure is adopted and integrated into the traditional financial system.
In Rasmussen’s view, the competitive landscape includes banks and consumer-facing businesses preparing their own stablecoins, but he does not see them as an immediate threat to Circle. Rasmussen pointed to OpenUSD (OUSD) being developed by OpenStandard, saying OUSD “will not be a major threat” to Circle.
What to Watch Next
Rasmussen said the key question over the next year is how Circle’s economics change as stablecoin adoption grows and its new infrastructure gains traction. He also stressed monitoring whether Circle’s Arc blockchain signals a shift in the company’s business focus from “issuance” to “movement and settlement.”
CoinDesk’s Public Keys interview framed the outlook as a scenario where stablecoin scaling could lead to a revaluation of Circle’s payments infrastructure, with investors watching whether Circle’s infrastructure becomes integrated into the broader financial system. Rasmussen’s thesis, as presented by CoinDesk, is that Circle can continue expanding in the regulated stablecoin market even as new competitors enter, provided it maintains execution capability.