But Bin did it, Circle

Author:Lawyer Lau Honglin

 

AT NIGHT, THERE WAS A RATHER UNATTRACTIVE PIECE OF NEWS: ACCORDING TO THE LATEST DISCLOSURE OF THE 13F DOCUMENT, IT WAS THE FIRST TIME IT WAS RELEASEDEast HarborOver 30,000 new shares were purchased in the latest reporting periodCircleThe market value is over $3 million, or less than 0.3 per cent of the total portfolio。

If only that number was seen, there was nothing special in itself, and that level of space was common in many institutions。

But the mark itself makes it interesting。

What's a CircleStable currencyThe business logic of the issuer

Circe is one of the issuers of the stable currency, which was just listed at the New Haven in 2025. It's very simple to open up its business: the user swaps the dollarUSDCThe company spends the money on short-term dollar debt or in banks to earn a spread。

From this point of view, it is more like a financial business that counts than a purely narrative project。

Circe itself has also gone through a rather typical "market-priced" process. It was listed at a price of $31, after which market sentiment was high, stock prices were quickly pulled to over $200, and market values were washed up to tens of billions of dollars, but there was a more marked retreat and volatility。

Prices appear to be volatile, and behind them the market is an inexhaustible judgement: what logic should this company value — whether by encryption, by financial companies, or by both。

Why did East Harbor buy the Circe

So it's not like it's a money ring news, it's a story about Orient Bay。

If that's rightBut BinThere is some understanding of the investment style, and it is true that his paths over the years have been more consistent, ranging from consumption, the Internet to the technological ladder, and essentially looking for firmer companies that can be held in the long term. There has also been some restraint in style, particularly in respect of volatile and difficult-to-pricing assets, where there is little direct re-engagement。

and that's why the encryption industry has been so hot in the last few years, and you rarely see this kind of money going straight to get bitcoin or all kinds of token。

Then why did you buy Circle this time? It is my understanding that companies like Circle are at least in a few places that traditional funds are acceptable compared to the direct purchase of money:

It is a listed company with financial and disclosure information that can be analysed in a familiar way。

It has income and its logic is clear, mainly from spreads。

What it does is more focused, and it's about stabilizing the coin。

In other words, as a traditional investment institution, it is in the same way that it can be judged in general terms whether it is a worthwhile business。

For reasons of work, Redwood lawyers often communicate with many of their investment friends on a daily basis, and many mainstream funds have been looking at Web3 for several years and are also studying it, but with little success on a truly large scale。

the reasons are not complex: it is too volatile to buy encrypted currency directly; it is difficult to analyse basic aspects by buying token; and it is too asymmetrical to be involved in early projects。

In many cases, there is broad agreement on the direction, but no easy way to engage。

Companies such as Circe provide a somewhat more acceptable path. You don't have to bear the sharp swings in currency prices directly, and you don't need to judge whether a project can get out, but you need to go through a company to participate in the slow growth of the whole industry。

The narrative of the stable currency is changing

Looking down, the stabilization currency itself is slowly changing。

YOU USED IT BEFORE, MORE FOR TRADING PURPOSES, OR FOR SOME CHAIN OPERATION. BUT NOW SOME THINGS ARE STARTING TO LOOK DIFFERENT — MORE AND MORE CROSS-BORDER PAYMENTS, MORE AND MORE ONLINE ELECTRIC OPERATORS, AND MORE AND MORE STABLE CURRENCY USE. WITH THE FIRE OF THE WAVE OF AI, ATTENTION HAS COME TO THE LOGIC OF THE USE OF THE STABILIZATION CURRENCY AFTER AI HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN THE TRANSACTION — BECAUSE IT ITSELF IS A SET OF TOOLS THAT CAN BE IMPLEMENTED AUTOMATICALLY AND SETTLED AT ANY TIME。

So it does not have to be defined by a big definition of the business of stabilizing the currency, which, in a simple sense, is a business that uses more people and uses more, more like a business that can be done over time。

Behind $3 million is the path to traditional finance

Returning to the subject of the article, the $3 million space itself is certainly not important。

But it actually gives a pretty clear answer: when traditional money really starts looking at Web3, their first reaction is not to buy money, but to look for things that can be understood as "company."。

In other words, they are not participating in a whole new world, but are approaching it in a way they are familiar with。

From this point of view, a company like Circe is essentially a "translator" role. – The application of the chain and the traditional financial system. You can't understand the whole industry, but at least you can understand what it is doing, how the money comes, where the risks are。

This is actually an underestimation by many. It is difficult for traditional funds to be actually included if Web3 simply stays on prices and narratives; but once a group of companies that can be explained and placed in the balance sheet begins to emerge, the way in which the industry is engaged changes。

So, it is not necessarily just Circle, which is essentially a test path: instead of going straight to the game, it is standing next to it, looking for a place that can understand and hold it for long。

As to whether this path is the best solution at the end, it is uncertain. However, it is certain that when more and more money begins to enter Web3 in this way, the industry itself will slowly become different。