--- title: "Cathie Wood Says Analysts Can’t ‘Fathom’ Circle, Calls It a ‘Prime Beneficiary’ of Payments Disruption" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/296771549.md" description: "Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood labeled Circle (CRCL) a 'prime beneficiary' of payments disruption, arguing that traditional analysts struggle to value the company due to their bias toward Visa and Mastercard. She highlighted short-term market inefficiencies, noting CRCL's significant post-IPO gains despite recent underperformance relative to peers. Ark Invest remains a major shareholder, holding over $481 million in CRCL shares across its ETFs." datetime: "2026-08-24T10:01:33.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/296771549.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296771549.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/296771549.md) generator: "portal-rs" --- # Cathie Wood Says Analysts Can’t ‘Fathom’ Circle, Calls It a ‘Prime Beneficiary’ of Payments Disruption **Ark Invest** CEO **Cathie Wood** pointed to short-term market inefficiency around **Circle Internet Group Inc.** (NYSE:CRCL) on Sunday, despite the stock gaining significantly since its IPO. ## Circle shares underperform over the past year Wood quoted a post by analyst **Alex Obchakevich** comparing the one-year performances of **Visa Inc.** (NYSE:V), **Mastercard Inc.** (NYSE:MA) and Circle. Visa was up 5% over the year, Mastercard roughly flat to slightly down, and Circle sharply down for much of the period. > Though $CRCL has appreciated 84% since its IPO, this one-year chart illustrates the inefficiency of public equity markets in the short term. Many financial services analysts have built their long-term track records off of $V and $MA and cannot fathom Circle, the disrupter. https://t.co/IY0vrTwsPD > > — Cathie Wood (@CathieDWood) August 23, 2026 ## ‘Short-Term Inefficiencies’ Wood, however, didn’t appear too impressed by the one-year chart. The veteran investor stated that the chart illustrates the “short-term inefficiencies” inherent in public equity markets, despite Circle’s sharp gains since its debut. Circle priced its initial public offering at $31 per share on June 5, 2025. The stock opened at $69, up about 123% from its $31 IPO price, and closed its first session at $83.23, a gain of about 168%. Circle’s shares have gained over 180% since the IPO. Wood said that many traditional financial-services analysts built careers and track records on Visa and Mastercard and struggle to "fathom" a pure-play disruptor like Circle. She contrasted Visa and Mastercard’s long-term gains since their IPOs with ongoing technology disruption in payments, positioning CRCL as a “prime beneficiary.” **Read Also: $219,000 to $60,000: Investor's MSTR Bet for Kids Takes a Big Hit, but Bitcoin Bull Michael Saylor Isn't Sugarcoating It: 'Be Prepared' for Difficult Years** ## Ark Invest’s Big Bet on CRCL Ark Invest remains a major investor in Circle. The firm holds $481.43 million worth of CRCL shares across **ARK Innovation ETF** (BATS: ARKK),  **ARK Next Generation Internet ETF** (BATS: ARKW) and **ARK Blockchain & Fintech Innovation ETF** (BATS:ARKF) **Price Action**: Circle shares were down 1.16% in Monday’s pre-market trading after closing 5.16% higher at $87.98 during Friday’s regular trading session. Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings show that CRCL demonstrated strong short- and medium-term momentum but underperformed over the long term. **Read Also: Peter Schiff Says Hitching Bitcoin to Artificial Intelligence Wagon is a Mistake: AI Isn't 'Bullish' for BTC, It's a 'Threat'** *Photo courtesy: Shutterstock* ### Related Stocks - [CRCL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/CRCL.US.md) - [CRCA.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/CRCA.US.md) - [CRCG.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/CRCG.US.md) - [CRCD.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/CRCD.US.md) - [CCUP.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/CCUP.US.md) - [CRCO.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/CRCO.US.md) - [V.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/V.US.md) - [MA.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/MA.US.md) - [MSTR.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/MSTR.US.md) - [ARKK.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/ARKK.US.md) - [ARKW.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/ARKW.US.md) - [ARKF.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/ARKF.US.md) - [STRF.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/STRF.US.md) - [STRC.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/STRC.US.md) - [STRK.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/STRK.US.md) - [STRD.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/STRD.US.md) ## Related News & Research - [OSL StableHub works with Circle on USDC integration, hits USDC 200 million deposits](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296754014.md) - [Ethereum, Circle, Coinbase Make Up Analyst's 'Galactic Three'—Here's Why](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296825560.md) - [Elon Musk’s X Could Use USDC To Pay Global Creators As It Replaces Its Existing Revenue Sharing Model](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296580918.md) - [Black Titan Highlights Stablecoin Payment Networks’ Shift to Utilization and Machine-Native Commerce](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296399654.md) - [Stablecoin issuer Circle now runs a bank (of sorts). Does that matter for Circle stock?](https://longbridge.com/en/news/295865356.md) --- > **Disclaimer: This article is for reference only and does not constitute any investment advice.**