The Circle Renaissance: When the "Toll Station" Becomes the Treasury
πππCircle Internet $Circle Internet Corp.(CRCL)$ didn't just beat earnings on February 25 2026. It rewrote the rules of Fintech. If the blockchain is the global highway, Circle has officially become the Master Toll Station, collecting fees on USD 11.9 Trillion in a single quarter.
Circle's Amazing Earnings Results: Why The Market is Buzzing
The numbers are quite frankly incredible:
Revenue: USD 770 million in Q4 25, USD 2.75 billion for the year - Up a massive 77% YoY
The EPS "Nuke": 43 cents vs the 16 cents expected. That is not just a beat. It is an eviction of the bears.
The Moat: A 54% adjusted EBITDA margin. Circle is no longer just a crypto start up. It is now a regulated infrastructure giant with software like efficiency and a banking style fortress.
Watching Circle pivot from interest income only to service fees and its own payment platform, Circle Payment Network (CPN), is like watching a landlord stop worrying about the rent because he just bought the only bridge into town. The traffic is coming and everyone has to pay the toll.
The Great Duel: Pure Play Circle vs IBLC ETF
Will Circle continue to go up? The "Weighing Machine" says Yes. But the Fire Horse is a wild ride. If the 35% single day surge gives you heart palpitations, it is time to look at $iShares Blockchain and Tech ETF(IBLC)$ .
The IBLC "Sleep Well Alternative"
IBLC ETF seeks to track the investment results of an index composed of USD and non US companies that are involved in the development, innovation and utilisation of blockchain and crypto technologies.
IBLC gives global access to the rapidly growing blockchain technology as it develops in scale, scope and complexity. It is a targeted yet diversified approach.
The top 10 holdings include:
Coinbase $Coinbase Global, Inc.(COIN)$
Circle is the 2nd highest holding in IBLC with 8.9% weightage.
$IREN Ltd(IREN)$
IREN is the 3rd highest holding with 8.75% weightage in the ETF.
IREN is special because it controls 3 gigawatts of secured, low cost power capacity in the US. IREN has the scarce real estate which comprise of power, land and fiber connectivity ready to deploy in a market where AI data centers face severe power shortages and multi year wait times for grid connections.
In addition to the big 3 holdings above:
Bitmine Immersion Technologies $BitMine Immersion Technologies Inc.(BMNR)$ is a cryptocurrency company focused on building a large scale Ethereum treasury to maximise ETH per share for investors through staking and accumulation.
Applied Digital Corp (APLD) designs, develops and operates next generation data centers tailored for HPC and AI applications. It provides infrastructure, including GPU as a service and specialised hosting to hyperscalers and AI companies. APLD is aggressively expanding its Polaris Forge campus to support massive AI workloads.
Nvidia (NVDA) needs no introduction as it is the undisputed leader in AI chips, holding 86% of the GPU market. It is the picks and shovels powerhouse, an essential infrastructure provider for AI, powering data centers, robotics and cloud computing. NVIDIA is the cornerstone of modern AI infrastructure.
Hut 8 Corp (HUT) is a US energy infrastructure operator and one of the largest publicly traded Bitcoin miners. Hut operates in 4 main segments - Power, Digital Infrastructure, Compute and Other, focusing on self mining, hosting and data centre services for AI and HPC.
Riot Platforms (RIOT) is a vertically integrated Bitcoin mining and digital infrastructure company that operates large scale data centers in Texas and Kentucky USA.
AMD is the 2nd leading provider of AI accelerators and GPUs behind NVIDIA. It is currently the leading alternative to NVIDIA in the AI and GPU market.
Mastercard (MA) is a global technology company in the payments industry that facilitates electronic fund transfers globally. It is currently building Infrastructure to connect traditional finance with the crypto ecosystem. Its approach emphasises trust, compliance and convenience.
IBLC's Top 10 weightage is 61 % out of a total of 37 holdings.
The expense ratio is 0.47%. Dividends are paid every 6 months in June and December each year. The current dividend yield is 6.2%. The last dividend payout in December 2025 was a substantial USD 2.56 per share.
Concluding Thoughts
While Circle is a strong buy, IBLC is my strategic anchor in 2026. Stablecoins are no longer just crypto. They are now the settlement layer for the Edge AI Explosion. Whether they drift away from Bitcoin or drive it up to USD 70,000 and beyond, one thing is certain: the world is moving to digital dollars.
As a small retail investor, I let IBLC do the heavy lifting for me in finding the best crypto companies at a low cost. IBLC also helps me to minimise my risks in selecting individual stocks. So far IBLC has done an excellent job as I am up 56% with the power of compounding. By utilising a dollar cost averaging approach, it has helped me to keep my portfolio growing for the long term horizon.
Benjamin Graham, famously known as the Father of Value Investing and the mentor of Warren Buffett has said:
"In the short run, the market is a voting machine but in the long term, it is a weighing machine".
This quote is my ultimate peace of mind manual. As my dividends and capital growth continue to grow, the market is simply confirming the true weight of the businesses I own.
@Tiger_comments @TigerStars @TigerClub @CaptainTiger
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.
Great article, would you like to share it?