Cryptocurrency prices and U.S. stocks rose Thursday as concerns eased in the Middle East, but Circle (CRCL), Bullish (BLSH), and Coinbase (COIN) all saw significant declines.
Circle fell 9.9% to $85.10 after Compass Point downgraded the stock to Sell from Neutral and reduced its price target by $2 to $77. The brokerage said USDC has held up better than in previous bear cycles, but argued that supply growth is moving towards lower margin areas. He also said Circle now trades at 40 times what he called optimistic adjusted EBITDA estimates for 2027, and warned that consensus forecasts for 2026 and 2027 may have to come down as first-half 2026 gross margins contract.
The firm said there is now more USDC on platforms such as Sky, Binance and Ethena, where revenue sharing agreements reduce Circle’s economics. In bear markets, that can matter. A stablecoin can maintain its supply, but the profit pool can be reduced if more of that supply is placed in lower-yielding channels.
Bull also faced sell-side pressure, falling 6.5% to $36.12 after Rosenblatt downgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy, maintaining his $39 price target. Rosenblatt said Bullish now trades at 28 times consensus adjusted EBITDA, a premium to peers including Coinbase and Robinhood (HOOD), adding that estimates are becoming more vulnerable as crypto activity weakens and IPO-related boosts to non-trading revenue fade.
bitcoin Meanwhile, it rose above the $72,000 mark and is trading at its highest level in more than three weeks. The move seemed linked to what markets interpreted as positive news surrounding the conflict between the United States and Iran. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that he had instructed his cabinet to begin direct negotiations with Lebanon.
The development drew attention because senior US officials said envoy Steve Witkoff had asked Netanyahu to scale back attacks in Lebanon and engage in talks. It also marked a shift from President Donald Trump’s previous stance, after he gave Netanyahu room to continue the war in Lebanon shortly before announcing a ceasefire with Iran on Tuesday.
The Nasdaq rose 0.8% and the S&P 500 rose 0.6%.
