Circle’s Stock Tanks 5%+ in After-Hours as 10M Class A Share Offering Spooks Investors

Wall Street’s favorite stablecoin issuer just gave traders a reason to sweat.

After-Hours Avalanche: Circle’s shares nosedived over 5% following news of a 10 million Class A share offering—because nothing says 'confidence' like diluting your stock.

Déjà Vu or Smart Play? The move reeks of classic cash-grab optics, but in crypto’s wild west, even dilution can be spun as 'strategic positioning.'

Bottom Line: Whether this funds global domination or just pays for more regulatory lawyers, one thing’s clear: the market voted with its sell button.

Crypto prices pull back after overnight highs

Bitcoin edged close to its all-time high after an overnight rally before settling flat at $118,981.86. Ether also flattened at $4,256.90 after climbing on Sunday to its highest level since December 2021. On Friday, Ether crossed $4,000 for the first time since that same month.

Both cryptocurrencies retreated from their intraday highs as the day went on. The early gains came alongside a rise in U.S. equity futures on Tuesday morning, as traders waited for key inflation data later in the week.

U.S. stocks started the day near record levels but lost momentum in the afternoon, dragging crypto assets down with them. Companies tied to crypto prices still posted gains during the session. Coinbase shares rose nearly 3%, Galaxy Digital was up 3%, and bitcoin proxy Strategy advanced more than 1%.

Debt growth drives Asian buying

The strong crypto rally in recent weeks has been fueled by buying during Asian trading hours, tied to rapid growth in U.S. government debt. Markus Thielen, CEO of 10x Research, linked bitcoin’s breakout in early July to President Donald Trump signing the Big Beautiful Bill, which increased the U.S. debt ceiling by $5 trillion.

Markus said the surge “isn’t random” and is being driven by “the fastest U.S. debt expansion in history.” He added that whether the U.S. economy holds up or slows down, the influx of debt acts as a tailwind for hard assets like bitcoin and gold.

Markus also pointed to $133,000 as the next key resistance level for bitcoin, saying current market positioning and structure favor bullish traders. Ethereum-related stocks were among the biggest movers, as capital inflows into newly formed treasury companies helped push Ether above $4,000.

Bitmine Immersion Technologies jumped 25% on Tuesday after a similar gain on Friday, while SharpLink Gaming rose 11%.

Investor interest in Ethereum has recently outpaced Bitcoin in exchange-traded products. Last week, Ether ETFs recorded $326.83 million in inflows, compared to $246.75 million for Bitcoin ETFs, showing traders’ growing appetite for the second-largest crypto.

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