Bernstein analyst maintains an "outperform" rating on USDC issuer Circle's stock, with a target price of $190, representing about 60% upside from the current level of $120.

The report points out that stablecoin adoption is increasingly decoupling from the crypto market cycle. Despite the market being in a bear phase, USDC supply has rebounded to nearly a record $78 billion, with the total market value of USD stablecoins steady at around $270 billion. Adjusted stablecoin trading volume has grown over 90% year-on-year, and turnover rate has increased, indicating that stablecoins are being used more and more in scenarios beyond crypto trading.

Payment adoption is the main driving force; stablecoins are gradually being integrated into traditional card networks. Visa currently supports over 130 stablecoin-linked cards in more than 50 countries, with an annualized settlement volume of about $4.6 billion. AI-driven "agent finance" could become a new growth theme, as machine-to-machine micro-payments between autonomous software agents will require stablecoins as a natural payment rail.