$COIN vs $CRCL — Is Coin Undervalued?
Circle’s IPO buzz has brought serious attention, pushing its market cap to nearly $44.48B, or about 59% of Coinbase ($75.2B). But does this valuation hold up under scrutiny?
The Valuation Gap
Despite being much smaller by every financial metric, Circle is being priced at a hefty premium:
So why is Circle trading at a 10x earnings multiple premium, with EV/EBITDA over 7x higher?
Circle Sends Money... to Coinbase?
Here’s the kicker: About half of Circle’s revenue flows into Coinbase’s pocket via custody fees, stablecoin infrastructure, and ecosystem support. That means COIN benefits whether CRCL flies or flops — Coinbase owns the toll roads of USDC.
Circle is like a high-growth tenant. Coinbase owns the building.
Momentum vs. Fundamentals
Circle has:
IPO hype ✅
The stablecoin narrative ✅
Strong brand and USDC dominance ✅
But when looking under the hood:
Profit margins are thinner
Earnings are significantly lower
Still highly reliant on Coinbase’s infra
🤔 So… Is Circle Overvalued?
Maybe. At 282x P/E, Circle is priced for massive future growth. Yet its top-line and bottom-line lag far behind Coinbase. In fact, Coinbase has higher earnings, better margins, and gets paid by Circle.
That’s leading many to ask:
Is $CRCL overvalued… or is $COIN still quietly undervalued?
Circle might be the flashy new listing, but Coinbase is the infrastructure powerhouse making it all possible. If CRCL is already worth ~70% of COIN while delivering only 6–26% of the performance — something might need to give.
Which side are you on?
$COIN vs $CRCL(Single choice)Disclaimer: Investing carries risk. This is not financial advice. The above content should not be regarded as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation on acquiring or disposing of any financial products, any associated discussions, comments, or posts by author or other users should not be considered as such either. It is solely for general information purpose only, which does not consider your own investment objectives, financial situations or needs. TTM assumes no responsibility or warranty for the accuracy and completeness of the information, investors should do their own research and may seek professional advice before investing.
For $COIN, I’ve always thought the fundamentals are solid, but its momentum is weaker. Its Bitcoin narrative isn’t as strong as $MSTR, and its stablecoin story isn’t as compelling as $CRCL.