Bitwise Head of Research Ryan Rasmussen said the stablecoin market could expand from about $300 billion to between $3 trillion and $5 trillion, arguing that investors are underestimating Circle's growth potential. He said Circle is well positioned because of its existing market share and could benefit as U.S. stablecoin regulation takes clearer shape. Rasmussen also said payments infrastructure could become Circle's second business, with the company building rails for transactions in a stablecoin-based financial system. Over the next five years, he said, Circle is likely to become a major player not just in stablecoins but also in payments. He added that OpenUSD, or OUSD, from OpenStandard does not represent a major threat to Circle, even though the initiative includes more than 140 payments and crypto companies such as Visa and BlackRock. In his view, projects like OpenUSD highlight rising interest from established players while still leaving room for Circle to grow as the regulated stablecoin market develops.