Mizuho Says Circle Trust Bank Approval Is Positive, but Core Concerns Persist

Mizuho said approval for Circle Internet Group Inc. (CRCL) to establish a US federal trust bank marks a positive step, but the fundamental concerns behind the stock's recent decline remain unresolved.

CoinDesk reported on July 13 that Mizuho analyst Dan Dolev called the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's approval a meaningful milestone. He also said the market may be interpreting the development too optimistically.

Dolev said the key issues that drove the recent weakness in Circle shares have not been resolved. He added that the emergence of OpenUSD could make it harder for Circle to maintain its competitive position.

Mizuho maintained its Neutral rating on Circle.

OpenStandard, a group of about 140 payments and crypto firms including Visa, Stripe, Mastercard, BlackRock, BNY, DBS, Coinbase, OKX and MetaMask, had earlier announced plans to launch OpenUSD, a stablecoin for global money transfers.