Circle Internet Group posted third-quarter 2026 revenue of $864.9 million, up 17% compared to the same period last year. The growth was supported by the public mainnet launch of the Arc blockchain and USDC transaction volume. Behind the top-line growth, however, Circle quietly cut 5% of its workforce.
The financial filing reveals a significant shift: Circle’s revenue was bolstered by new streams as cash reserve interest came under pressure.
Where the Additional Revenue Came From
Circle’s reserve income dropped 8% to $658 million as the average yield on reserve assets fell 61 basis points - or 0.61 percentage points - to 3.5%. ARC token presale sales filled the gap by contributing roughly $182 million, or 21% of total third-quarter revenue. Without this presale contribution, Circle’s revenue and reserve interest stood at $683 million, down from $740 million in the third quarter of last year.
Quarterly operating expenses climbed 16% to $245 million as spending on technology infrastructure, administration, and marketing expanded. In order to align its organizational structure with strategic priorities, Circle trimmed about 5% of its staff and recorded a restructuring charge of $9.15 million. This figure included approximately $9.1 million in cash severance and related benefits, partially offset by a $5.7 million reversal of stock-based compensation from forfeited equity awards.
USDC Market Share Shrinks to 27 Percent
Average USDC circulation rose 8% year-over-year to $73.3 billion, standing at $73.9 billion at the end of the quarter. However, USDC’s market share in the US dollar stablecoin sector shrank by 1.83 percentage points to 27%. USDC minting and redemptions each hit a record $104 billion over the quarter (a total turnover of $208 billion, or $2.3 billion per day), with 7.3 million wallets now holding more than $10 USDC.
In the payments sector, Circle Payments Network recorded an annualized volume of $41.3 billion, surging 2.8-fold from $14.7 billion in June 2026 and increasing 15-fold year-over-year. Circle also reaffirmed its $400 million all-stock acquisition of Singapore-based cross-border payments provider Tazapay, targeted for completion in 2027, and noted a $100 million equity investment from Binance (approximately 1.24 million shares).
The Arc blockchain, officially launched on September 16, 2026, became a new cornerstone with an initial supply of 10 billion ARC tokens. The network partnered with 11 founding institutional validators, including Visa, BlackRock, and DTCC, and plans to transition to Proof-of-Stake in 2027. For asset holders and market participants, this quarterly report sends a clear signal: Circle is accelerating the monetization of its proprietary network to compensate for declining cash reserve interest, even as efficiency measures required cutting staff across the company.
Reported by crypto.news.
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