Crypto prices and US stocks rose on Thursday as Middle East concerns eased, but Circle (CRCL), Bullish (BLSH) and Coinbase (COIN) all posted big declines.
Circle fell 9.9% to $85.10 after Compass Point downgraded the stock to sell from neutral and cut its price target by $2 to $77. The brokerage said USDC has performed better than in previous downturn cycles, but argued that supply growth is going into lower-margin areas. It also said Circle now trades at 40 times its optimistic 2027 adjusted EBITDA estimate, and warned that consensus forecasts for 2026 and 2027 may have to come down as first-half 2026 gross margins contract.
The firm said more USDC is now sitting on platforms like Sky, Binance and Athena, where revenue-sharing agreements underpin the economics of the circle. In bear markets, this may matter. A stablecoin can maintain its supply, but the profit pool can shrink if more of that supply sits in low-yield channels.
Bullish also faced selling pressure, falling 6.5% to $36.12 after Rosenblatt downgraded the stock from Buy to Neutral while maintaining his $39 price target. Rosenblatt said Bullish now trades at 28 times consensus adjusted EBITDA, which is a premium to peers including Coinbase and Robinhood (HOOD), and he added that estimates are becoming more subdued due to weak crypto activity and a decline in IPO-related non-trading revenues.
Bitcoin Meanwhile, it climbed above the $72,000 mark and is trading at its highest level in more than three weeks. The move appears to be linked to what are seen as positive news surrounding the US-Iran conflict. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday he has instructed his Cabinet to begin direct negotiations with Lebanon.
The development attracted attention as senior US officials said envoy Steve Witkoff had asked Netanyahu to reduce attacks in Lebanon and start talks. It also marked a change from President Donald Trump’s earlier stance, when 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%.