In the first quarter of 2026, renowned investor Duan Yongping disclosed via his SEC 13F filing that his US-managed account, H & H International Investment, held a diversified portfolio of 19 securities valued at $20,003,996,234. While Apple, Berkshire Hathaway, Nvidia, Pinduoduo, and Tesla remained the top five holdings, the filing revealed a significant strategic deviation: the acquisition of 200,000 shares of Circle Internet Group (CRCL). Data compiled by Woofun AI shows this position was established at an average price of $95.41, representing a total capital outlay of approximately $19.08 million, or roughly 0.095% of the total portfolio value. This allocation mirrors the scale of his previous exploratory stakes in CoreWeave, Credo Technology, and Tempus AI, which historically ranged between 0.04% and 0.12% of his holdings, confirming a consistent pattern of cautious, observational entry rather than a definitive long-term bet.

The investment marks a stark contradiction to Duan Yongping's public stance recorded nine months prior. On July 29, 2025, responding to inquiries on Xueqiu, he explicitly stated, "I don't understand things that don't generate cash flow, and I have no interest in stablecoins," a sentiment that had become a defining viewpoint for the Chinese value investing community amidst the regulatory uncertainty following the US GENIUS Act. Woofun AI notes that this declaration was widely interpreted as a barrier to entry for traditional value investors in the stablecoin sector.

However, the Q1 2026 filing indicates that Duan Yongping executed his purchase between late February and March 2026, a period when CRCL shares were recovering from a record low of $49.90 on February 5, 2026. His average entry price of $95.41 was substantially below the post-IPO peak of $298.99 reached in June 2025, reflecting a disciplined approach to buying during valuation adjustments. By May 18, 2026, with CRCL trading at $111.39, the position had already generated an approximate 16.7% return.

This move aligns with a broader portfolio rebalancing strategy observed from the second half of 2025 through Q1 2026, where Duan Yongping reduced exposure to previously over-optimistic sectors, notably cutting his ASML stake by 87.63% while increasing Nvidia holdings. The simultaneous entry into Circle and Tesla suggests a reallocation toward new economy companies undergoing valuation resets. Institutional sentiment during this period was mixed but generally positive; Fintel data indicates that 485 institutional investors held Circle shares as of mid-May 2026, with 353 increasing their positions in Q1 2026 compared to 192 reducing them.

Notably, But Bin's overseas fund, Oriental Harbor, also initiated a small position of approximately $3 million in Circle during the same quarter, accounting for less than 0.3% of its portfolio, while simultaneously acquiring TSMC and Micron shares. This coordinated action by two prominent Chinese value investors signals a collective shift from avoidance to cautious exploration of compliant stablecoin leaders.

Conversely, other major players diverged sharply in their assessment of Circle's fundamentals. SoftBank Group completely liquidated its entire holding of 95,659 shares in its Q1 13F filing on May 15, 2026, reallocating capital toward AI-related initiatives while also exiting Uber and Lemonade. This divergence highlights the complexity of the asset's valuation landscape, where long-term investors reached opposite conclusions on the same underlying business.

Furthermore, internal selling pressure emerged prior to the Q1 2026 financial report release on May 11, 2026. CFO Jeremy Fox-Geen and Director M. Michele Burns executed sales under Rule 10b5-1 plans, with Fox-Geen offloading shares worth approximately $1.12 million and Burns selling shares valued at roughly $1.38 million. Despite this insider activity, external institutions like Marshall Wace increased their holdings by 23.8% in Q4 2025, and ARK Invest added 41,904 shares on May 12, 2026, holding a total position valued at approximately $471 million.

Circle's Q1 2026 financial results presented a dual narrative of revenue growth and profit compression. Revenue climbed 20% year-on-year to $694 million, driven by a 263% surge in USDC blockchain trading volume to $21.5 trillion.

However, net profit contracted by 15% to $55 million, reflecting the costs associated with scaling operations and regulatory compliance. Woofun AI analysis suggests that the company's strategic pivot is moving beyond a singular focus on USDC toward a multi-currency, multi-scenario digital settlement network. This includes the development of the Circle Payments Network, the EURC euro stablecoin, tokenized income tools, and cross-chain settlement services. The release of the Arc mainnet whitepaoutlined a roadmap for a public chain designed for institutions, compatible with EVM and natively integrating USDC, with a test network having already processed 244.1 million transactions as of May 5, 2026.

The Arc ecosystem introduces a new revenue dimension through its tokenomics, with a total supply of 10 billion ARC tokens. Circle retains 25% for operations, allocates 60% to ecosystem builders and users, and reserves 15% for long-term use. CFO Jeremy Fox-Geen confirmed that the value of these incentive tokens will be reflected in financial statements with corresponding cost deductions, meaning Circle's P&L will incorporate new revenue streams from the second half of 2026.

Concurrently, the company is expanding into AI-based payments via the Circle Skills module, enabling AI agents to perform native stablecoin payments and cross-chain transfers. In May 2026, Jeremy Allaire publicly supported research on granting legal person status to AI agents via zero-member LLC structures, signaling a willingness to invest in projects leveraging the Circle Agent Stack. This evolution transforms Circle's business model from simple reserve interest income to a complex ecosystem involving public chains and AI infrastructure.

Although the $19.08 million investment represents a mere 0.1% of Duan Yongping's $20 billion portfolio, its symbolic weight within the Chinese investment community is substantial. As a figure often viewed as a barometer for value investing trends, his entry into Circle suggests the asset has entered the "qualified quadrant" of his analytical framework. For the past year, compliant stablecoin leaders were largely shunned by Buffett-school investors due to regulatory ambiguity and unfamiliar financial models. The synchronized, albeit small-scale, entries by both Duan Yongping and But Bin in Q1 2026 indicate a definitive shift in sentiment, marking the transition from regulatory skepticism to a cautious, data-driven exploration of the digital settlement infrastructure sector.