Circle Internet Group (CRCL) suffered a double blow on July 22: the stock was removed from several Russell growth benchmarks, and a rival stablecoin network called Open Standard went live the same week. According to Google Finance data, CRCL closed at $62.63, down 17.5%, after touching an intraday low of $62.00. The stock opened at $72.68 and never recovered.
Index Removal Shakes Passive Holdings
Simply Wall St reported that Circle was removed from the Russell 1000 Growth Index, Russell 3000 Growth Index, and Russell Midcap Growth Index during the latest annual reconstitution. Index-linked funds and institutional mandates tracking these benchmarks must adjust their CRCL exposure, affecting passive ownership and trading volume around the rebalancing dates. The stock's 40% decline over the past month has been partly attributed to selling pressure from the index exit.
FTSE Russell said the June 2026 reconstitution covered growth, value, and size-based indexes as market leadership shifted.
Open USD Brings Free Minting Competition
Beyond the index shake-up, Circle faces a new threat from Open Standard, a stablecoin network backed by more than 140 firms including Visa, Mastercard and Coinbase. Its dollar-pegged token, Open USD (OUSD), offers free minting and redemption, sharing reserve earnings with ecosystem participants after a management fee. This model directly challenges Circle’s USDC business, where reserve interest income is a core revenue source.
“Existing stablecoins have great strengths, but to use them at scale, businesses need something that’s open, low-cost, high-throughput, broadly accessible, and aligned to their interests,” said Open Standard founding CEO Zach Abrams.
Allaire and Ardoino Respond
Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire posted on X: “USDC remains the most trusted, widely adopted, institutional-ready stablecoin in the world.” He pledged continued investment in banks, payments, capital markets and enterprise use cases.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino welcomed the new entrant: “Welcome OUSD. Player 2 has entered the game.” The remark signals that the USDT-USDC duopoly may face a serious challenger.
Previously, crypto.news reported that Circle’s NYSE listing under CRCL had turned USDC into one of Wall Street’s most closely watched stablecoin plays. Now, both index changes and stablecoin competition are reshaping investor perceptions of Circle’s value.