Circle: Revenue in the first half of the year was 1.4 billion USD, with nearly 60% used for partner and transaction costs
On October 16, Circle announced that in the first half of 2026, the on-chain settlement amount of USDC exceeded $36 trillion, and Circle minted and redeemed over $315 billion of USDC during the same period, averaging about $1.7 billion per day. The company stated that as of June, USDC accounted for approximately 77% of the global stablecoin trading volume, an increase from 60% a year ago.
More attention from the market is focused on the revenue distribution of USDC. Circle disclosed that the company generated about $1.4 billion in revenue in the first half of the year, of which approximately $819 million was allocated to USDC distribution partners and transaction costs, accounting for about 59% of the revenue; another approximately $473 million was invested in licensing, bank partnerships, settlement liquidity, compliance systems, product development, and multi-chain deployment, accounting for about 34%. According to this announcement, for every $1 of revenue Circle earns, it ultimately retains only about 7 cents in net profit.
This announcement may be in response to market concerns regarding "stablecoin issuers monopolizing reserve earnings." Circle stated that partners can share corresponding reserve earnings by holding and expanding their USDC balances on their platforms; currently, more than 150 trading platforms, wallets, banks, fintech companies, payment platforms, and enterprises have formed economic interests tied to the growth of USDC. Circle also mentioned that Binance signed a five-year commercial agreement with it in September and invested $100 million in Circle.
On the product front, Circle announced an expansion of its free redemption mechanism: all Circle customers can still redeem USDC for free through traditional banking channels, with funds typically arriving within two business days; customers who make payments through the Circle Payments Network, or those eligible using products like Arc, Circle Mint, and Circle Wallets, will be able to obtain free, near-real-time redemption capabilities.