VII. Introduction to the Key Players in the Issuer Group (Hint: Circle, the star of today's stablecoin livestream, makes a grand entrance)

Currently, the main players are Tether and Circle.

Tether was the first to recognize the demand for stablecoins, so it has the most extensive ecosystem. However, it lags behind Circle in terms of compliance. Tether's annual profit is $13.7 billion.

Circle, having entered the market later, expanded its use cases by paying traffic fees to Coinbase, which led the way in adopting it, gradually fostering its ecosystem. It has filed for an IPO, with annual profits of $160-170 million, as it has been paying traffic fees to Coinbase.

Future Competition: The key factor may lie in the ability to obtain licenses, as each U.S. state requires its own.

Circle: Strong shareholder backing—IDG, ZTE, Everbright, CreditEase. Logically, Circle has higher growth potential. Circle is also highly scarce in the secondary market. It has secured the hardest-to-obtain New York State license and is now collaborating with local institutions in Hong Kong to obtain a license there.

Tether: However, Cantor Fitzgerald, a financial firm owned by former U.S. Commerce Secretary Ross, holds a 5% stake in the company, so it also has strong backing. Rumors suggest it will launch a fully U.S.-compliant stablecoin in 2026-2027.

$Circle(CRCL.US) $Robinhood(HOOD.US) $Coinbase(COIN.US) $Digital currency concept(CP00079.US)