TLDR
- Circle President Heath Tarbert sold $30.77 million in CRCL tokens across 10 transactions since June 2025, with no recorded purchases.
- CRCL stock dropped 17.5% to $62.63, a steep fall from its post-IPO peak near $260.
- Open USD launched backed by Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, BlackRock, BNY and Coinbase, putting new pressure on Circle’s stablecoin business.
- Mizuho cut its Circle price target to $50, citing margin pressure from Open USD’s revenue-sharing model.
- Circle received OCC approval on July 10 to establish Circle National Trust for digital asset custody.
Circle President Heath Tarbert has sold $30.77 million worth of CRCL tokens across 10 transactions since June 2025, according to Form 4 filings dated July 20, 2026. No purchases were recorded during that same period.
Circle President Heath Tarbert Sold About $30.8 Million of CRCL Shares Since June 2025
SEC Form 4 filings show that Circle President and former CFTC Chair Heath Tarbert has sold CRCL shares 10 times since June 2025, totaling about $30.77 million. The transactions mainly involved… pic.twitter.com/Rupr1y4eDQ
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) July 20, 2026
The sales come as CRCL stock trades near $62.63, down sharply from its post-IPO peak of around $260. The stock fell 17.5% after Open USD entered the market and CRCL was removed from several Russell Growth indexes.
Despite the selloff, Tarbert has publicly defended Circle’s direction. In a July 14 interview with FOX Business, he said the company is “playing the long game” and that the stock should “take care of itself” if Circle delivers on its broader mission.
Tarbert pointed to USDC’s roughly $73 billion in circulation and native support across 34 blockchains. He argued those network effects would be “incredibly hard to replicate” for any new competitor entering the stablecoin space.
Open USD Enters the Market
The competitive pressure became more concrete when Open Standard launched Open USD, a stablecoin backed by over 140 businesses. The coalition includes Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, BlackRock, BNY and Coinbase.
Under the Open USD model, partners can mint and redeem the stablecoin without fees and receive a share of reserve earnings after a management charge. That revenue-sharing structure is a direct contrast to how USDC economics currently work.
Mizuho responded by cutting its Circle price target from a higher level down to $50, saying Open USD’s model could pressure margins and raise distribution costs for Circle going forward.
JPMorgan also lowered its earnings forecasts for Circle and Coinbase following a new revenue-sharing agreement tied to USDC balances on Hyperliquid. The bank noted that stronger adoption of that arrangement could come at the cost of lower reserve income retained by both companies.
Circle Expands Regulated Infrastructure
While the competitive picture has shifted, Circle has continued building out its regulatory footprint. On July 10, the company received final approval from the OCC to establish Circle National Trust.
The trust bank will initially provide digital asset custody services. USDC reserve management has been identified as a possible future service under the entity.
The approval places Circle National Trust under direct federal supervision, which Circle says could support wider institutional use of its digital asset infrastructure.
Tarbert’s public comments have framed USDC’s scale and regulated status as Circle’s primary competitive advantages. He described USDC as the largest regulated stablecoin by transaction volume.
CRCL fell 17.5% to $62.63 following the Open USD announcement and the Russell index removal.
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