ARK • Disrupt

On Thursday, shares of Circle (CRCL), the issuer of stablecoin USDC, IPO’d¹ and surged 300% from ~$31 to ~$90,² signaling a significant shift in public perceptions of the crypto industry. Circle’s successful IPO could inspire more crypto-native firms to pursue public listings, further highlighting the sector’s role as an innovator in the global financial infrastructure space.

Interestingly, stablecoins are exporting the US dollar (USD) to many regions that are attempting to de-dollarize. By sending dollars over blockchain rails, Circle and Tether are bypassing conventional banking infrastructure and providing easy cross-border access to USD. Both companies have accumulated large reserves of US Treasuries as collateral and are transforming stablecoins into parallel monetary networks. In emerging markets, Tether’s USDT has become a practical alternative to local currencies that have been plagued with a history of devaluing and destroying purchasing power, not to mention wealth.

Applying Hernando de Soto’s framework,³ stablecoins are continuing the property rights revolution that bitcoin launched. Bitcoin made financial property rights possible with smartphones. Stablecoins are advancing the cause with a less volatile asset and more utility across blockchains and financial platforms. For the 1-3 billion⁴ people without access to traditional financial services, stablecoins are offering them their first on-ramp to the global economy.

Recently, Nic Carter likened⁵ stablecoins to “Starlink for money.” Just as Starlink bypasses traditional infrastructure to provide internet service to underserved regions, stablecoins are introducing billions of people to a permissionless financial system. Starlink and stablecoins are parallel systems that enable functionality as legacy systems fall short.

Several dynamics could impact Circle’s revenues and margins in the next few years. Circle’s business model should evolve as it capitalizes on network effects and scales. Lower interest rates could pressure the yield-based revenues it shares with distribution partners like Coinbase and Binance, adding importance to the speed at which both USDC and Circle’s payments platform scale, and to the partnership deals that Circle strikes for strategic integrations and distribution.

ARK is excited to announce that we invested in Neuralink’s Series E funding⁶ round. The company’s brain-computer interface (BCI) already is transforming the lives of paralyzed people. Now five individuals with severe paralysis can control digital and physical devices with their thoughts.

Neuralink exemplifies technological convergence, as robotics and AI penetrate the healthcare sector more profoundly. While its initial focus is restoring function for those with paralysis, blindness, and ALS, Neuralink’s long-term vision could unlock the bandwidth for superhuman communication and interaction with AI.

Last week, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. participated in an FDA roundtable⁷ with FDA Commissioner Marty Makary and Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) chief Vinay Prasad, focusing on the deregulation necessary to keep the US at the forefront of innovation in the cell and gene therapy space. Central to their discussion was the current regulatory process, which is slow, costly, inflexible, and rife with “one-size fits all” rules that not only are hindering innovation but also driving it offshore.

In response, the FDA is pledging several reforms: developing deeper partnerships with industry, improving efficiency, and piloting alternative study designs. Perhaps most striking is their intention to make rare disease therapies available at the first sign of biological efficacy and employing a conditional approval pathway that would grant patients earlier access with long-term safety oversight.

The panel cited the success of Baby KJ, whose bespoke CRISPR therapy was produced and delivered under close FDA guidance in under six months—unprecedented! It serves as proof that speed and safety can coexist. Importantly, these healthcare leaders believe that KJ’s successful treatment highlights the potential for on-demand genetic treatments at scale.

If enacted, these reforms should shorten traditional development timelines, lower the barrier to entry for high-impact therapies, and accelerate the access to curative treatments patient by patient.