Circle President Heath Tarbert has sold about $30.8 million worth of Circle (NYSE: CRCL) stock over the past year, according to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, while continuing to hold a significant stake in the company.
SEC Form 4 filings show Tarbert completed 10 insider transactions between June 2025 and July 2026, generating approximately $30.77 million through a mix of stock sales and stock option exercises. Despite the sales, he still owns roughly 503,000 Circle shares. The filings also show no open-market purchases during the period.
the circle president heath tarbert has sold $CRCL 10 times since june 2025, cashing out ~$30.77m and never bought more shares, according to form 4 filings.
in an interview with fox business, heath tarbert mentioned “the stock price will take care of itself,” and “circle is…
— Catherine Chan (@catwychan) July 20, 2026
Circle’s stock remains well below its post-IPO high in the middle of growing competition in the stablecoin sector.
Why did Tarbert sell shares?
The SEC filings do not indicate that Tarbert’s sales were linked to any change in Circle’s business outlook. Most of the transactions involved a combination of exercising stock options and selling shares.
Earlier this month, Tarbert told FOX Business that Circle remains focused on expanding its financial infrastructure rather than short-term stock price movements.
Responding to questions about CRCL’s decline from around $260 to the low $60 range, he said the company is prioritizing long-term execution, adding that shareholder value would follow if the business continues to grow.
Tarbert also defended Circle’s position in the stablecoin market, highlighting that USDC has around $73 billion in circulation and is available natively across 34 blockchains. He said those network effects would be difficult for newer competitors to replicate.
How is competition affecting Circle?
Circle has faced increasing pressure after Open Standard announced Open USD, a planned stablecoin backed by more than 140 companies, including Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, BlackRock, BNY, and Coinbase.
The announcement added to investor concerns over growing competition and new revenue-sharing models in the stablecoin market. Circle shares previously fell 17.5% to $62.63 after the Open USD announcement and the company’s removal from several Russell Growth indexes.
Analysts have also turned more cautious. Mizuho lowered its price target on Circle to $50, warning that Open USD’s revenue-sharing model could reduce Circle’s margins and increase distribution costs.
JPMorgan also cut earnings forecasts for both Circle and Coinbase following changes to USDC’s revenue-sharing arrangement tied to Hyperliquid balances, saying stronger adoption could leave both companies with less reserve income.
READ ALSO: Circle Continues to Move Billions in USDC to Coinbase
Circle continues expanding regulated crypto services
Despite the rising competition, Circle has continued expanding its regulated crypto infrastructure.
On July 10, the company received final approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish Circle National Trust, a federally supervised trust bank.
The trust bank will initially provide digital asset custody services, while management of USDC reserves is expected to be introduced in a later phase, strengthening Circle’s regulated crypto operations.
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