Circle Internet Group (NYSE: CRCL) shares rose about 6% on Monday, September 21, as Bitcoin climbed above $85,000 and the stablecoin company expanded its institutional lending products. The stock closed Friday at $91.78 and opened Monday at $98.09.

Circle launched Digital Asset-Backed Borrowing, a service that allows eligible Circle Mint customers to borrow USDC against Bitcoin without selling their BTC. The service operates through supported onchain lending markets on Arc and Ethereum.

Customers deposit Bitcoin with Circle and mint Circle Wrapped Bitcoin, or cirBTC. They can then supply cirBTC as collateral through a customer-controlled wallet and receive borrowed USDC directly in their Circle Mint account. The process gives institutions access to dollar-denominated liquidity while them to maintain exposure to Bitcoin. The structure separates the decision to hold Bitcoin from the decision to raise dollars, since customers keep their market exposure while the coins sit as collateral.

Circle said the unified process is designed to reduce the number of platforms and transactions typically required for crypto-backed borrowing. Further information is available in Circle’s official announcement: Digital Asset-Backed Borrowing is now available in Circle Mint.

Circle also announced that cirBTC is now live on Arc. The company described the token as bringing 1:1 BTC-backed liquidity into the Economic OS for internet-native financial markets, enabling participants to use BTC across lending, trading, collateral, settlement and treasury workflows.

cirBTC is now live on Arc. Circle Wrapped Bitcoin brings 1:1 BTC-backed liquidity into the Economic OS for internet-native financial markets, helping participants use BTC across lending, trading, collateral, settlement, and treasury workflows. pic.twitter.com/EJqR6ZlLh5 — Circle (@circle) September 21, 2026

Morpho is the first third-party lending protocol supported by Digital Asset-Backed Borrowing. Circle said it plans to add Aave and other lending platforms over time. Additional venues would give borrowers more choice among the interest rates, collateral terms and liquidity that each market sets independently. The borrowing positions are overcollateralized rather than based on traditional unsecured credit underwriting. Customers can add collateral or repay USDC to release their cirBTC.

Circle does not directly lend the funds or set the borrowing terms. Interest rates, collateral requirements, liquidation thresholds and available liquidity are determined by the selected third-party lending market. As a result, borrowers remain exposed to changing borrowing costs, collateral requirements and liquidation risk.

The launch coincides with cirBTC becoming available on Circle’s Arc blockchain. According to Circle, every cirBTC is backed 1:1 by native Bitcoin held through Circle National Trust. Circle originally launched cirBTC on Ethereum earlier this year. Its availability on Arc gives institutions another network on which to use Bitcoin as collateral within Circle’s stablecoin ecosystem.

Arc recently launched its mainnet and uses USDC as its native gas token. Circle is positioning the network around stablecoin payments, tokenized assets and institutional financial markets. Because USDC doubles as gas, activity on Arc feeds directly back into stablecoin usage — the core of how Circle frames the network’s role.

Bitcoin’s move to roughly $85,000, its highest level since January, provided an additional backdrop for Monday’s gain in CRCL and lifted sentiment across crypto-related stocks. The borrowing product could increase institutional demand for USDC and cirBTC, while giving Circle another way to connect Circle Mint customers with activity on Arc. However, Circle has not disclosed expected borrowing volumes or revenue from the service.

A sharp decline in Bitcoin could push collateral positions toward liquidation, and borrowing costs and collateral requirements can change with market conditions. Because the service relies on third-party DeFi protocols, users also face smart-contract, liquidity and protocol risks outside Circle’s direct control. Customers in New York are currently excluded from the service.

The product’s financial contribution will depend on whether institutional clients adopt it at scale. Early signals to watch include the pace of position openings on Morpho and the arrival of Aave and other venues on the supported list. Eligible Circle Mint customers can now open Bitcoin-backed USDC borrowing positions through Morpho on Arc or Ethereum.

Source: CoinCentral