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Circle Internet Group's (NYSE: $CRCL) pullback is not shaking Bernstein's bullish view on the stablecoin issuer, even after a new rival backed by some of the biggest names in payments and crypto entered the market.

Bernstein kept its Outperform rating and $190 price target on Circle, implying 203% upside from recent levels. The call came after Circle shares fell 17.5% following the debut of Open USD, or OUSD (CRYPTO: $OUSD), launched by a 140-company consortium.

The market reaction was tied less to OUSD itself than to the names behind it. The consortium includes Visa (NYSE: $V), Stripe, Mastercard (NYSE: $M), BlackRock (NYSE: $BLK) and Coinbase (NASDAQ: $COIN), giving the project a distribution map across payments, exchanges and traditional finance.

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OUSD will be issued through Open Standard, an independent company governed by a partner board. The structure offers free minting and redemption, no issuance caps, and shared reserve income across the network, rather than leaving most of the economics with a single issuer.

That model directly touches the debate around Circle's public-market valuation. Circle's USDC (CRYPTO: $USDC) has grown into the second-largest dollar stablecoin and remains deeply tied to Coinbase, which earns about half of USDC reserve income under its commercial agreement with Circle. Bernstein said that stream accounts for close to 20% of Coinbase's total revenue.

Bernstein argues that OUSD expands the stablecoin opportunity rather than immediately breaking Circle's moat. The firm said USDC holds about 28% of the dollar stablecoin monetary base, while its transaction share has climbed this year. USDC processed $5.3 trillion in the first half of 2026 and reached roughly 60% of stablecoin transaction volume, according to Bernstein.

Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire also pushed back on concerns about Coinbase's role in the new consortium, saying the partnership remains strong.

For Circle, OUSD turns the stablecoin race into a cleaner public test: whether distribution alone can challenge the liquidity, compliance and network depth USDC has already built.

Circle Internet Group (NYSE: CRCL) is trading at $65.85 U.S. per share.