Circle’s $50B Valuation Logic: Market Misses Payment Network

The debate here is less about Circle's current economics than about which valuation framework the market should apply: a stablecoin issuer exposed to consortium competition, or a payments network whose liquidity and network effects compound. That distinction matters for how peers and rivals across stablecoin infrastructure get priced, since it sets a precedent for valuing distribution over issuance. The open question is whether the projected supply growth materialises and whether Circle's moat holds if the Open Standard consortium gains real adoption.