Circle reports $865M Q3 revenue – Can USDC challenge Tether’s dominance?
Circle's Q3 results reveal a bigger USDC growth story, but something seems fishy.
Circle Internet Group (CRCL) reported strong financial performance in Q3 2026, with growth in USDC adoption, transaction activity, revenue, and profitability compared to the same period last year.
As per the financial report, the average amount of USDC in circulation reached $73.3 billion, increasing 8% year-over-year. Meanwhile, USDC’s on-chain transaction volume surged 49% to $13.9 trillion.
At the same time, the company also recorded $865 million in total revenue and reserve income, marking a 17% annual increase. This includes income earned from investing the reserves backing USDC, primarily in cash and short-term U.S. government securities.
On the financial front, Circle generated $658 million in reserve income, down 8% from the previous year. This decline was primarily attributed to a lower reserve return rate of 3.5%, compared to the previous year’s rate, which was 61 basis points higher.
In simple terms, lower returns on the assets backing USDC affected the company’s primary revenue source. However, other revenue increased significantly to $207 million, largely due to the ARC token presale, which contributed $182 million.
What pushed Circle’s Q3 growth?
All of this happened as Circe went through major developments in Q3 2026. Starting with the launch of Arc’s public mainnet on the 16th of September 2026, which is Circle’s Layer-1 blockchain designed to support financial applications, payments, and institutional transactions. Then Circle also expanded its global payments ecosystem through several partnerships.
The company signed a definitive agreement to acquire Singapore-based cross-border payments platform Tazapay, a deal expected to close in 2027, subject to regulatory approvals. Binance also announced a $100 million equity investment in Circle and renewed its strategic partnership to promote USDC adoption.
Meanwhile, Visa moved its USDC-based stablecoin prefunding solution from pilot testing to commercial deployment, while Samsung Wallet introduced USDC-based international payment capabilities for eligible US users. All of this coincided with Circles’ stock trading at $76.12 after a hike of 1.17% in the past trading session.
Headwinds remain
Yet, despite all of this, Tether’s USDT still continues to account for the largest share of overall stablecoin transaction activity. As per data from Visa on-chain analytics, USDT recorded $763.77 billion from July to September 2026 as compared to USDC, which recorded $123.73 billion during the same period.
In fact, AMBCrypto also reported that Q4 has started on a weak note, with the stablecoin market cap struggling to cross $310 billion, suggesting limited liquidity across the crypto market.
At the same time, the European Banking Authority (EBA) has designated Circle’s USDC as the first major e-money token under the EU’s MiCA framework. Starting 12th November, 2026, Circle will face stricter supervisory requirements, with the EBA monitoring its capital, reserves, liquidity, and redemption guarantees.
Final Summary
- Circle generated $658 million in reserve income, down 8% from the previous year.
- Circles’ stock trading at $76.12 after a hike of 1.17% in the past trading session.
