Jacob Funds, a mutual fund company, released its first-quarter 2026 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The Fund started the year optimistically, expecting fiscal and monetary policies to boost an economy showing mixed signals. However, rapid AI developments and a Middle East conflict caused one of the worst quarters since COVID. Market turbulence led to widespread tech sell-offs, blurring lines between at-risk and AI-benefiting firms. AI prompts critical long-term questions for the tech industry, with emerging agentic AI promising a new wave of innovation similar to the late 1990s dot-com boom. Recent market weakness allowed the Fund to invest in promising beneficiaries at better prices, creating an opportunity to pivot into names with potential for rapid growth and profits as agentic AI moves from niche to broad adoption. Please review the Fund’s top five holdings to gain insights into their key selections for 2026.
In its first-quarter 2026 investor letter, Jacob Funds highlighted Circle Internet Group (NYSE:CRCL) as a new addition to the Jacob Internet Fund and Jacob Small Cap Growth Fund. Circle Internet Group (NYSE:CRCL) is a financial technology company that operates as a platform for stablecoin and blockchain applications. On April 9, 2026, Circle Internet Group (NYSE:CRCL) closed at $85.10 per share. One-month return of Circle Internet Group (NYSE:CRCL) was -26.24%, and its shares gained 7.31% over the past 52 weeks. Circle Internet Group (NYSE:CRCL) has a market capitalization of $22.63 billion.
Jacob Funds stated the following regarding Circle Internet Group (NYSE:CRCL) in its Q1 2026 investor letter:
“The Jacob Internet Fund added four new positions in the quarter, Circle Internet Group (NYSE:CRCL), CrowdStrike, Reddit and Robinhood. Circle is a financial technology platform centered on stablecoins and blockchain based payments infrastructure, most notably as the issuer of USDC, a dollar-backed digital currency. Today, the company generates revenue primarily from interest earned on reserve assets, such as short term Treasuries, backing its stablecoins, while expanding into developer infrastructure, payments networks, and tokenized financial products. While recent results already highlight rapid growth in USDC circulation and transaction volumes, we believe we’re at an inflection point where adoption could accelerate over the next few years.”
Circle Internet Group (NYSE:CRCL) is not on our list of 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026. According to our database, 58 hedge fund portfolios held Circle Internet Group (NYSE:CRCL) at the end of the fourth quarter, up from 29 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of Circle Internet Group (NYSE:CRCL) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than Circle Internet Group (NYSE:CRCL) and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
In another article, we covered Circle Internet Group (NYSE:CRCL) and shared the list of Jim Cramer’s biggest cryptocurrency and blockchain stocks. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2026 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
