Circle Q1 Results Show USDC Circulation at $77 Billion as Arc and AI Payments Push Advances

Circle, the issuer of dollar-pegged stablecoin USDC, unveiled Arc on Aug. 12, 2025, as an open Layer-1 blockchain built for stablecoin-native finance. The EVM-compatible network uses USDC for transaction fees and combines a built-in foreign-exchange engine, sub-second deterministic finality and optional privacy controls. Circle is targeting payments, FX and capital-markets applications, seeking to address volatile gas costs, fragmented liquidity and confidentiality constraints that have slowed institutional blockchain adoption.

Circle launched Arc’s public testnet on Oct. 28, 2025, with more than 100 companies participating, and expects a mainnet beta in 2026. A white paper published in May 2026 outlined an ARC token with an initial supply of 10 billion and annual issuance starting at 2% to 3%. Circle plans to allocate 60% to the ecosystem, 25% to itself and 15% to a long-term reserve, with ARC supporting staking and network coordination.

Circle Internet Group, issuer of the dollar-backed stablecoin USDC, still derives most of its revenue from interest earned on cash and U.S. government securities held in reserve. That leaves the company exposed to lower interest rates and swings in digital-asset demand, making revenue diversification strategically important. Circle is betting that autonomous AI agents will need programmable, always-on money to buy data, computing power and digital services, potentially creating a machine-to-machine payments market that card-based infrastructure was not designed to serve.

On Aug. 5, 2026, Circle reported second-quarter USDC circulation of $73.3 billion, up 19% from a year earlier, while onchain transaction volume surged 151% to $14.8 trillion. Revenue rose 7% to $701.3 million and adjusted EBITDA increased 8% to $143 million. Circle had launched Circle Agent Stack on May 11, adding Agent Wallets, an Agent Marketplace and gas-free Nanopayments, as it seeks to turn autonomous-agent activity into a new stablecoin market and a source of transaction-based revenue.

Circle issues USDC, one of the world’s largest dollar-backed stablecoins, and earns much of its revenue from interest on reserve assets. Its results are closely watched as stablecoins move deeper into payments and capital markets. Circle is also expanding beyond token issuance through Arc, its Layer 1 blockchain, and a payments network designed to connect financial institutions with blockchain-based settlement infrastructure.

Circle reported second-quarter revenue of $701 million on Aug. 5, slightly below Wall Street estimates, while adjusted earnings per share exceeded expectations and lifted the stock about 10% in premarket trading. USDC circulation increased 19% to $73.3 billion during the quarter, while on-chain transaction volume surged 151%. The company also named BlackRock and Depository Trust & Clearing Corp., or DTCC, among Arc’s validators, highlighting growing institutional support for the network.

Circle Internet Group issues USDC, the world's second-largest U.S. dollar stablecoin, and its business is closely tied to interest rates, stablecoin usage and regulatory developments. Cathie Wood's ARK Invest has increased its holdings again, reflecting a major growth fund's bet on digital-dollar infrastructure and Circle's future expansion.

Circle reported first-quarter earnings on May 11, 2026, posting earnings per share of 21 cents, above market expectations. ARK Invest bought 41,904 shares that day through ARKK, ARKW and ARKF, spending $5.5 million. Circle shares closed 16% higher at $131.76, their highest close since March 18. It was ARK's first increase in its holdings since spending $16.3 million on March 24.

Circle issues USDC, the world’s second-largest U.S. dollar stablecoin, and earns most of its revenue from interest on reserves held in cash and short-term U.S. Treasuries. Growth in USDC circulation therefore directly boosts revenue. Circle is developing Arc as an L1 network for payments, foreign exchange and AI-agent micropayments, a key test of whether it can evolve from an interest-driven business into a network platform.

Circle reported fourth-quarter 2025 revenue of $770 million on February 25, 2026, up 77% from a year earlier, and net income of $133 million. Its shares jumped more than 20% intraday. On May 11, it also announced a $222 million presale of the ARC token at a $3 billion valuation. A beta version of the Arc mainnet is scheduled to launch later in the year, with Agent Stack and micropayments targeting AI-agent transactions.

Circle issues USDC, which is pegged one-to-one to the US dollar, and earns most of its revenue from interest on reserve assets. With interest rates remaining elevated and tokenized markets expanding, its role is shifting from a crypto trading tool to payment and settlement infrastructure. Clear Street said the value of tokenized assets grew from about $1.5 billion in early 2023 to roughly $26.5 billion in March 2026.

As of March 16, 2026, Circle shares had risen more than 100% over one month. The stock gained 8% that day to $124.37 and was up about 49% year to date, while Bernstein had set a $190 price target. A March 13 report said Aon was piloting stablecoin premium payments with Coinbase and Paxos, while Wells Fargo had filed a trademark application for “WFUSD” covering trading, payments, wallets and custody.

Circle issues USDC and generates most of its revenue from interest on the dollar reserves backing the stablecoin. Investment bank William Blair believes stablecoins are evolving from crypto trading instruments into infrastructure for cross-border payments. With regulations and networks still fragmented across jurisdictions, Circle’s payment network and USDC’s liquidity are key to maintaining its market leadership.

William Blair said in its latest report that Circle’s stock had recently outperformed other crypto-related shares, interpreting the gains as evidence that investors recognize the resilience of USDC’s market capitalization and Circle’s infrastructure advantages. However, the available information does not disclose the report’s exact publication date, the size of the share-price gain, USDC’s market capitalization or a price target, and those figures should not be inferred.

Circle-issued USDC is a U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin, while Circle Mint allows businesses to mint, redeem and manage USDC. Transfers between multinational corporate entities typically rely on bank wires, which are constrained by business hours and cutoff times and take one to three days to settle. The trial therefore highlights blockchain’s potential to reduce the time that funds remain in transit.

Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said on March 7, 2026, that the company had completed 11 USDC transfers among eight internal entities through Circle Mint in the first month, totaling more than $68 million. All were completed within 30 minutes, while about 90% of transfer-pricing work could be completed within one day. The related multi-entity treasury-management features were expected to be updated later that month.

Circle issues the U.S. dollar stablecoin USDC, which briefly lost its peg during the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in 2023. As stablecoins increasingly become core tools for cross-border payments and onchain finance, Circle is evolving from a single-product issuer into a financial infrastructure provider spanning payments, settlement and blockchain networks.

Circle’s 2025 results showed that year-end USDC circulation rose 72% from a year earlier to $75.3 billion, helping lift full-year total revenue by 64% to $2.7 billion. Quarterly transaction volume approached $12 trillion, up 247% year over year. The testnet for its Arc blockchain is progressing smoothly, with the mainnet expected to launch in 2026.

Circle issues the U.S. dollar stablecoin USDC and derives most of its revenue from income on the cash and U.S. Treasury reserves backing the token. The company went public in June 2025. USDC’s rapid expansion has made Circle’s results an important gauge of stablecoin adoption and the company’s sensitivity to interest rates.

Circle reported fourth-quarter 2025 revenue of $770 million, beating market expectations. USDC in circulation exceeded $75 billion at year-end, up 72% from a year earlier. Although IPO-related stock-based compensation pushed the company to an annual loss, its shares initially rose more than 20% after the results, with the gain later approaching 50%. Bernstein also reiterated its $190 price target.