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A major Wall Street bull added to one of the market’s hottest trades, even after the stock had already surged sharply following earnings.
Shares of stablecoin issuer <a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/tag/circle" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Circle </a>climbed to their highest level since March this week, as investors looked past a revenue miss and focused instead on explosive growth in digital dollar usage and blockchain infrastructure.
The rally also drew fresh buying from Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest, marking an unusual move for a fund manager better known for buying sharp selloffs than chasing momentum.
<a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/u-s-labor-unions-raise-concerns-over-retirement-risks-in-new-bill" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Related: U.S. labor unions raise concerns over retirement risks in new bill</a>
<h2 id="cathie-wood-buys-circle-during-rally">Cathie Wood buys Circle during rally</h2>
Ark Invest purchased roughly $5.5 million worth of Circle (CRCL) shares across multiple exchange-traded funds on May 11, <a href="https://x.com/ArkkDaily/status/2053990218580029648?s=20" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">according to</a> the firm’s daily trading disclosures.
The purchases were spread across ARKK, ARKW and ARKF, with the firm buying more than 41,000 shares combined as Circle stock rallied following its latest earnings report.
The timing stood out because <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/CRCL/?guccounter=1&amp;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&amp;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAHbppsiO9N_mq0SvZopJbtVO4Zk76gUxTa6NWDJzb6rXj7_S-W5Ufd-KjuV0hIzozssRZ_hjQOtgQ9v4i1iZWr8s-utKMkJaKT0-s4e_MVW76USOjeAXu7YOMWrHbCAqor8d-XqZfFQ5RMkTSmFOfAgHP0Q5Z0GPx1NtSJb5mqBj" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Circle shares</a> had already surged nearly 16% after earnings and closed at their highest level since March.
Ark is typically associated with <a href="https://www.thestreet.com/investing/stocks/cathie-wood-buys-12-9-million-of-tumbling-tech-stock-coreweave-crwv" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">buying heavily sold-off</a> technology and crypto-related stocks during periods of weakness. This latest purchase instead came while momentum was already accelerating, signaling continued confidence in Circle despite the sharp post-earnings rally.
Despite concerns around revenue growth, investors continued piling into the stock.
<h2 id="circle-missed-revenue-estimates-but-wall-street-still-liked-the-report">Circle missed revenue estimates, but Wall Street still liked the report</h2>
On May 10, Circle reported <a href="https://s206.q4cdn.com/265218871/files/doc_financials/2026/q1/FINAL_9_42-p-m-Q1-2026-EPR_May-2026-docx-2.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">first-quarter revenue</a> of $694 million, missing Wall Street estimates, while adjusted earnings came in at 21 cents per share, ahead of analyst expectations.
Investors instead focused on the company’s underlying stablecoin growth.
According to <a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/major-crypto-stock-rises-after-blackrock-investment" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Circle’s earnings report</a>, USDC transaction volume surged 263% year-over-year to $21.5 trillion, while USDC circulation climbed to $77 billion. Adjusted EBITDA also rose 24% from a year earlier.
Circle also revealed it had raised $222 million for Arc, its blockchain infrastructure initiative focused on <a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/explained/explained-what-is-a-stablecoin" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">stablecoin </a>settlement and tokenized finance.
The strong market reaction likely boosted the value of Ark’s existing Circle exposure, effectively allowing Cathie Wood to double down while the position was already working.
<h3 id="trending-on-thestreet-roundtable">Trending on TheStreet Roundtable:</h3>
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<h2 id="cathie-wood-usually-buys-the-dip-but-not-this-time">Cathie Wood usually buys the dip, but not this time</h2>
Ark Invest has built its reputation around buying disruptive technology companies during periods of market stress, including repeated purchases of <a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/tag/tesla" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Tesla </a>and <a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/tag/coinbase" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Coinbase </a>during sharp drawdowns.
The firm also bought Circle shares earlier this year after the stock fell nearly 20% during the March crypto selloff. That makes this week’s buying behavior unusual.
Instead of averaging into weakness, Ark added exposure after Circle surged as much as 16% following earnings and briefly traded above $140 before pulling back alongside broader risk assets.&nbsp;
At the time of writing, CRCL shares were trading near $124, down about 6% on the day as tech stocks, Bitcoin and crypto-related equities weakened after hotter-than-expected<a href="https://x.com/RTB_io/status/2054188046845956154?s=20" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"> inflation data.</a>
The move also comes as stablecoins increasingly become a central narrative across both crypto and traditional finance, particularly as US lawmakers advance the <a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/major-u-s-banks-push-back-on-new-clarity-act-proposal" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">CLARITY Act</a> and broader stablecoin legislation aimed at establishing regulatory rules for digital dollar issuers.
<a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/cathie-wood-predicts-voracious-appetite-for-volatile-spacex-ipo" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Related: Cathie Wood predicts 'voracious' appetite for 'volatile' SpaceX IPO</a>

Cathie Wood buys popular crypto stock despite revenue miss

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