Mizuho’s “cut” is pretty ruthless—if Circle’s OpenUSD model really hands all the profits to its partners, then what’s the difference versus traditional payment companies? As the stablecoin race gets more and more cutthroat, users end up loving it, while issuers have a hard time.

Japanese investment bank Mizuho downgraded Circle’s rating from “neutral” to “underperform,” and cut its target price from $85 to $50, saying Circle’s OpenUSD model for distributing most reserve investment returns to issuers and channel partners may force Circle to share more revenue with partners, thereby compressing profit margins. Mizuho therefore raised its forecast for Circle’s 2027 distribution and trading cost ratio from 64% to 73%, and cut its adjusted EBITDA forecast from $1.09 billion to $699 million. (CoinDesk)