#稳定币 Recently, I have been delving into Circle's strategic adjustments, and this case has triggered some serious reflections for me.

On the surface, Circle is thriving in issuing USDC—revenue has grown from 435 million to 740 million, which looks impressive. But the real pitfalls are in the details: the growth rate of circulation and distribution costs has nearly caught up with revenue growth, and profit margins are tightly held between 39-42%, leaving no room for upward movement. This phenomenon is very familiar because I often see similar logic when following trades—seemingly high-yield strategies are gradually eroded by hidden fees and slippage.

Circle’s response is worth dissecting: they realize that the path of simply issuing stablecoins has been locked down. Distribution platforms like Coinbase control the end-users and, in turn, extract more value from Circle. So, Circle is moving upstream—CPN is responsible for coordinating payment routing and compliance, while Arc provides a controllable settlement environment. This isn’t about pursuing short-term profit spikes but about re-establishing bargaining power.

From a copy-trading perspective, this has inspired me with an important logic: when your revenue source is controlled by a single channel, you are actually in a passive position. Circle’s choice—to align closer to the control points of usage and settlement—is essentially about diversifying risk and regaining initiative. Applied to copy-trading strategies, it also reminds me not to overly rely on a single trader style, but to diversify by combining different types of traders according to my risk preferences, ensuring multiple sources of income.

The most interesting point about Arc is that it has value even without handling most of the trading volume. Its mere existence changes the negotiation dynamics with partners. It’s similar to maintaining multiple backup options in copy-trading—you don’t necessarily have to use them, but the power of choice itself is valuable.

In the long run, whether Circle’s combined approach can reverse the trend of issuers being marginalized remains to be seen, but the core idea is very clear: defending against long-term leverage is much more important than making quick money.