Cathie Wood Criticizes Payments Analysts Over Circle Market Assessment

Cathie Wood, founder of ARK Invest, stated on August 23 that analysts covering Visa and Mastercard fail to grasp the competitive threat posed by Circle Internet Group. Wood pointed to the 84% increase in CRCL shares since the company's June 2025 initial public offering as evidence of a shift in the payments sector.

In contrast, Visa and Mastercard have recorded year-to-date gains of 5% and 1%, respectively. Wood characterized this performance gap as a sign of market inefficiency regarding how traditional payment models are valued.

Circle reported $48 million in net income for the second quarter of 2026, marking a shift from a loss in the same period the previous year. Transaction revenue for the company doubled during this timeframe. The firm's stablecoin, USDC, accounted for 62% of stablecoin transaction volumes, reaching approximately $849 billion in volume as of July 2026. In the first half of 2026, USDC processed $5.3 trillion in transactions.

CRCL shares launched at $31 on June 5, 2025, and reached a peak near $299 before declining. The stock is currently trading 58% below that high, though it experienced a 30% rally in July following the second-quarter earnings report.

Circle faces competition from the Open USD consortium, which launched around June 30, 2026. Partners in this initiative include Stripe, Coinbase, and BlackRock. Notably, Visa and Mastercard have joined the consortium, indicating that while their analysts may not be focused on stablecoin disruption, their corporate strategy teams are involved.

Wood argues that traditional models focused on card network transaction volumes and interchange fees are becoming outdated. She suggests that stablecoins can process large transaction volumes at lower costs than traditional card rails. ARK Invest continues to hold a position in CRCL shares as the company expands from stablecoin issuance into broader payments infrastructure and blockchain services.