I took a quick look at Circle’s financial results for the first half of 2026, and there’s something interesting here.
Q1 revenue was $694 million, and Q2 revenue was $701 million, for a total of about **$1.4 billion** in the first half.
But what’s even more interesting is how it makes that money:
94% comes from interest on reserves.
The logic is simple: you transfer some USDC on-chain, Circle deposits the dollars backing it into Treasury bills, and all the interest goes into Circle’s pocket—not yours.
In other words, the more people use USDC and the larger it gets, the more Circle earns. In Q1, USDC in circulation reached $77 billion, up 28% year over year. On-chain transaction volume was even more striking: up 263% year over year to $21.5 trillion.
This model is practically unbeatable when interest rates are high: the business scales, rates provide a tailwind, and revenue keeps climbing.
But the ceiling is already in sight:
USDC peaked at $79.2 billion on March 17, then began to fall. By October, it had dropped back to $71.8 billion, down nearly 10%. Once the rate-cutting cycle gets underway, Circle’s reserve income will shrink right along with it.
Circle has recognized this issue and is pushing its own L1, called Arc. It has also launched Agent Wallets and an AI payments protocol, hoping to shift from “earning the spread” to “collecting platform fees.” Whether it works remains to be seen.
Circle completed its IPO in June 2025 (ticker: CRCL), raising about $1.1 billion. These half-year results have helped validate its business model, but the structural risks are now on full display too.
In the stablecoin game, retail users pay fees with USDC while institutions earn interest on the reserves. Do you understand the rules now?
$USDC
#circle上半年营收约14亿美元
Q1 revenue was $694 million, and Q2 revenue was $701 million, for a total of about **$1.4 billion** in the first half.
But what’s even more interesting is how it makes that money:
94% comes from interest on reserves.
The logic is simple: you transfer some USDC on-chain, Circle deposits the dollars backing it into Treasury bills, and all the interest goes into Circle’s pocket—not yours.
In other words, the more people use USDC and the larger it gets, the more Circle earns. In Q1, USDC in circulation reached $77 billion, up 28% year over year. On-chain transaction volume was even more striking: up 263% year over year to $21.5 trillion.
This model is practically unbeatable when interest rates are high: the business scales, rates provide a tailwind, and revenue keeps climbing.
But the ceiling is already in sight:
USDC peaked at $79.2 billion on March 17, then began to fall. By October, it had dropped back to $71.8 billion, down nearly 10%. Once the rate-cutting cycle gets underway, Circle’s reserve income will shrink right along with it.
Circle has recognized this issue and is pushing its own L1, called Arc. It has also launched Agent Wallets and an AI payments protocol, hoping to shift from “earning the spread” to “collecting platform fees.” Whether it works remains to be seen.
Circle completed its IPO in June 2025 (ticker: CRCL), raising about $1.1 billion. These half-year results have helped validate its business model, but the structural risks are now on full display too.
In the stablecoin game, retail users pay fees with USDC while institutions earn interest on the reserves. Do you understand the rules now?
$USDC
#circle上半年营收约14亿美元