Chatbots Would Rather You Skip USDC, Mizuho Finds, Cutting Circle Target to $43

Mizuho Securities on Monday trimmed its Circle Internet Group (CRCL) price target by $2, to $43, while reiterating an Underperform rating. In the note, the bank estimated that AI personal-assistant tools pulling holders out of USDC and into better-paying products could cut Circle's reserve revenue by 10% to 20% over the medium term and erase $4 billion to $9 billion of USDC's market value.

"We believe AI personal assistant engines pose a marked risk to Circle's medium-term revenue," Mizuho analysts wrote. Get Unchained's crypto news in your inbox with the free Unchained Daily newsletter.

Inside Mizuho's Chatbot Test Mizuho put the question to AI agents, Muse among them: where should someone keep their cash? The assistants tended to steer away from USDC and toward FDIC-insured accounts with higher yields.

Told the user preferred to stay in crypto, the agents still "seem to prefer other platforms" to Circle's, the note said. Mizuho's exercise shows advice, not withdrawals. In a faster-adoption scenario, Mizuho sees roughly $7 billion shifting to fiat products and about $2 billion to stablecoins that pay more, which would lower reserve revenue by 18%.