In February 2026, stablecoin trading volume reached a record $1.8 trillion, with USDC surpassing USDT in transaction volume for the first time. This shift is driven by institutional demand for compliant U.S. dollar infrastructure. Circle's USDC facilitated $680 million in cross-ledger settlements in 30 minutes, a process that traditionally takes days. Circle's CEO Jeremy Allaire highlighted that this accounted for 90% of the company's internal transfers. Circle's revenue surged to $2.7 billion in 2025, marking a 64% increase. Analysts remain optimistic, with Bernstein rating Circle as "Outperform" and a $190 price target. Meanwhile, competition intensifies with Tether, PayPal, and Stripe launching stablecoin initiatives.