Circle Internet Group Q4 Earnings Beat Expectations, USDC Circulation Hits $75.3B

Strategy has emerged as the largest short target among U.S. large-capsas Circle Internet Group delivered a blowout earnings report that sent shares soaring 17% in premarket trading. The contrasting fortunes underscore the sector's bifurcation between profitable stablecoin infrastructure and leveraged Bitcoin treasury models under pressure. Meanwhile, multiple companies reporting major AI-related developments Tuesday and Wednesday. Stay up on the crypto news that matters with "Crypto Currents," daily from The Fly. Join us at 2 PM ET for your essential briefing on the fast-moving world of cryptocurrency on FlyCast radio.CIRCLE CRUSHES Q4 ESTIMATES AS USDC CIRCULATION HITS $75.3B:Circle Internet GroupQ4 results Wednesday morning that exceeded Wall Street expectations across every metric, delivering $770M in total revenue and reserve income, up 77% year-over-year and topping the analyst consensus of $745M. Adjusted earnings came in at 43c per share versus the consensus estimate of 35c, with adjusted EBITDA surging 412% to $167M. The stablecoin issuer's USDCcirculation grew 72% to $75.3B at year-end, with onchain transaction volume jumping 247% to $11.9T in Q4 alone.that USDC grew even as bitcoinand other digital assets crashed in late 2025, underscoring stablecoins' resilience relative to the broader crypto market. For FY25, Circle posted $2.7B in revenue, up 64%, though it recorded a $70M net loss driven by $424M in IPO-related stock-based compensation. The company projected a 40% compound annual growth rate in USDC circulation and reserve liability deposit cost margins of 38%–40% for FY26, providing a bullish outlook for the stablecoin infrastructure layer even as crypto-native assets remain volatile.STRATEGY BECOMES MOST SHORTED STOCK WITH $7B UNREALIZED BITCOIN LOSSES:Strategyholds approximately 717,722 BTC worth $47B, purchased at an average cost of $76,020 per token, leaving the company sitting on approximately $7B in unrealized losses as of current market levels., short bets now equal 14% of Strategy's $34B market cap, making it the most heavily shorted U.S. stock among companies over $25B in market capitalization, with Coinbaseranking fourth at 11%. Analysts attribute much of the short interest to basis trades where traders short MSTR shares while buying bitcoin spot ETFs like BlackRock'sIBIT to profit from narrowing premiums, rather than outright bearish conviction on the company. Bitmine Immersion'sTom Leea contrarian bullish signal, arguing that when a short trade becomes consensus, bad news gets priced in and upside squeezes become more likely. Strategy shares have plunged 63% over the past six months and roughly 73% from the $475 peak in July 2025, though the company recently purchased an additional 2,500 BTC for $168M funded by selling 297,940 Class A shares under its at-the-market offering program.HUT 8 REPORTS $302M LOSS DRIVEN BY UNREALIZED DIGITAL ASSET WRITEDOWNS:Hut 8Q4 revenue of $88.5M, missing the Wall Street consensus of $97.5M but delivering adjusted earnings per share of 36c that beat the consensus estimate of (12c). The company posted a net loss of $301.8M, or ($2.63) per share, driven by $401.9M in primarily unrealized losses on digital assets as bitcoin's price decline hammered balance sheets across the mining sector. For FY25, Hut 8 generated $235.1M in revenue, up 45% year-over-year, though the net loss of $248M contrasted sharply with 2024's net income of $331.4M. Compute revenue of $81.9M in Q4 is rapidly becoming the dominant segment as Hut 8 transitions from bitcoin mining to AI infrastructure, anchored by a $7B, 15-year AI data center lease agreement with Fluidstack and Anthropic secured in December 2025 and financially backstopped by Alphabet's Google.BITCOIN MINERS ACCELERATE AI PIVOT AS 70% PURSUE HPC INITIATIVES:Tuesday that bitcoin's tumble is widening a stock market schism among mining companies, with investors picking winners and losers based on their AI pivot progress rather than mining hash rate alone. Cipher Miningjumped 12.48% Tuesday after reporting plans to liquidate its entire 1,166 BTC treasury to fund its AI transition, while also selling its mining joint venture interests to Canaan. TeraWulfrose 12% on developments around its own separate multi-billion-dollar Fluidstack AI data center collaboration, with Q4 earnings due February 26. Bitfarmsgained 7.84% as the company winds down BTC mining and pivots fully to AI and high-performance computing,with a shareholder vote scheduled for March 20. Core Scientificagreed to appoint up to three independent directors with Two Seas Capital after its failed CoreWeavesale, while MARA Holdingscompleted acquisition of a controlling interest in Exa, a data center subsidiary of French energy company EDF.COINBASE EXPANDS EVERYTHING EXCHANGE WITH FULL U.S. STOCK TRADING LAUNCH:Coinbase rolled out stock and ETF trading to all U.S. users Tuesday, expanding from its limited December pilot with more than 8,000 equities available for 24/5 trading alongside crypto assets. The company simultaneously announced a partnership with Yahoo Finance that integrates a "Trade [Asset] on Coinbase" button directly into Yahoo Finance's stock and crypto pages, providing real-time Coinbase data and offering a one-month free Coinbase One Basic trial for Yahoo Finance users. Fractional shares are available from as little as $1, with trades fundable via USD or USDC stablecoin, and Coinbase plans to launch tokenized stocks and global access to U.S. equities for international traders later this spring. COIN shares traded around $164.99 Wednesday, down nearly 63% from the 52-week high of $444.65, yet 62% of analysts maintain Buy ratings as the company continues diversifying beyond pure crypto exchange revenue under the "Everything Exchange" strategy.CRYPTO.COM RECEIVES CONDITIONAL OCC APPROVAL FOR NATIONAL TRUST BANK CHARTER:thatCrypto.comreceived conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to charter Foris Dax National Trust Bank, d/b/aCrypto.comNational Trust Bank, permitting custody, staking of digital assets, and trade settlement as a federally regulated institution. The charter does not allow cash deposits or loan issuance and was submitted in October 2025 with OCC approval granted within about four months.Crypto.com, who also holds a large treasury of cronos tokens,was one of 18 firms that applied for OCC charters in 2025, joining Circle, Ripple, Paxos, BitGo, and Fidelity Digital Assets, which received OCC trust bank charter approvals in December 2025, with Stripe's Bridge subsidiary following in February 2026.META PLANS STABLECOIN COMEBACK VIA STRIPE FOR H2 2026 CREATOR PAYOUTS:Meta Platformsis preparing to re-enter the stablecoin market in the second half of 2026, integrating third-party stablecoin payments across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.that Meta has issued requests for proposals to external infrastructure firms, with Stripe emerging as the likely partner after CEO Patrick Collison joined Meta's board in April 2025 and Bridge secured its OCC trust bank charter. Meta will not mint its own stablecoin but will act as a distribution channel for third-party stablecoins, likely USDC, with the use case centered on creator payouts, particularly approximately $100 cross-border transfers that currently incur high wire and foreign exchange fees. This follows the failure of Meta's 2019 Libra and Diem projects, though the regulatory landscape has shifted dramatically with the GENIUS Act signed in 2025.SPOT BITCOIN ETF FLOWS TURN POSITIVE WITH $257.7M INFLOWS:U.S.-listed spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded $257.7M in net inflows Tuesday, the largest daily total since early February and reversing Monday's $203.8M in outflows., Fidelity's FBTC led with $82.81M in inflows, followed by BlackRock's IBIT with $78.52M and Ark Invest's ARKB with $71.14M. Cumulative net flows remain above $54B despite the 2026 drawdown, with total ETF assets under management near $85B, roughly 6.3% of bitcoin's market cap, though bitcoin ETFs have bled approximately $4.5B year-to-date overall as institutional investors continue risk-off positioning.TRUIST WEALTH OPENS SPOT BITCOIN ETF ACCESS THROUGH FIDELITY AND BLACKROCK PRODUCTS:Truist Wealththat its financial advisors will now offer clients two SEC-registered spot bitcoin ETFs sponsored by Fidelity and BlackRock, with the products also available for self-directed trading through Truist Trade. The move by the wealth management arm of Truist Financialreflects growing institutional adoption of regulated crypto exposure through ETF wrappers even as bitcoin's price remains volatile, with traditional banks and wealth managers increasingly treating spot bitcoin ETFs as acceptable client allocations within diversified portfolios.PRICE ACTION:As of time of writing, bitcoin was trading at $67,496.28, while etherwas trading at $2,014.50,.