Circle stock's biggest bears "capitulated" and upgraded their ratings, but still warned of a crypto roller coaster of stock price action

PANews reported on January 30, according to CoinDesk, January 30, 2026. Wall Street analyst and Circle stock’s biggest bear, Ed Engel, upgraded his rating from “sell” to “neutral,” but lowered his target price from $75 to $60, warning that the stock is still highly tied to the cryptocurrency market and is moving like a “roller coaster.” Engel pointed out that Circle’s stock price performance is increasingly in sync with Ethereum and the broader crypto market cycle, and that more than 75% of the supply of USDC, the stablecoin behind it, is used for high-risk activities in DeFi or exchanges, which makes the correlation between USDC and Ethereum prices as high as 0.66, and this trend may continue until mid-2026. Therefore, despite being a “stablecoin” issuer, Circle has essentially become a cyclical stock and is currently valued high. Potential upside catalysts include the passage of the CLARITY Act (with a 60% probability) and the trend of tokenization of U.S. assets in DeFi, which could provide a clearer regulatory basis for USDC’s growth and reduce its reliance on overall crypto sentiment. Engel believes that corporate revenue is still closely tied to speculation in the short term, and it may take several years to truly decouple from the crypto cycle.