Circle returned to profit in the second quarter as rising use of its USDC stablecoin helped offset weaker returns from the reserves backing it.
The company reported revenue and reserve income of $701 million, a 7% increase on the same period last year. Reserve income accounted for $668 million, up 5%, after average USDC circulation grew by 25%.
However, the return earned on those reserves fell by 66 basis points to 3.5%, limiting the overall benefit of the larger supply of the digital currency.
Net income from continuing operations was $48 million, an improvement of $530 million compared with the previous year. Circle said that comparison had been affected by substantial stock-based compensation linked to its 2025 initial public offering.
Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose by 8% to $143 million.
USDC circulation reaches $73.3bn
The amount of USDC in circulation stood at $73.3 billion at the end of the quarter, 19% higher than a year earlier.
Onchain transaction volume increased by 151% to $14.8 trillion. The rise indicates that USDC was being used more frequently, with transaction activity growing considerably faster than the total supply of the stablecoin.
Circle minted $83 billion of USDC during the quarter and redeemed $87 billion. The number of wallets holding more than $10 worth of USDC increased by 24% to seven million.
USDC accounted for 27% of the fiat-backed stablecoin market, a fall of 66 basis points. Despite that decline in market share, the amount of USDC held directly on Circle’s platform more than doubled to $12.4 billion.
Circle Payments Network also recorded growth. Its annualised transaction volume reached $14.7 billion by the end of the quarter, 76% higher than in the previous period. The network had 175 financial institutions enrolled.
“Our quarterly financial results reflect the current rate environment and a crypto market that has slowed. But near-term activity tells a different story. We have built the platform for the internet financial system. We’re only beginning to see what it unlocks,” CEO Jeremy Allaire said.
Arc mainnet set for 16 September
Circle plans to launch the public mainnet of Arc, its institutional blockchain network, on 16 September.
Arc is due to include privacy tools, infrastructure for artificial intelligence agents and support for tokenised real-world assets. More than 100 institutions and developers are already involved in the project.
Its validator group includes Blackrock, BNY, Mastercard, Visa, Standard Chartered, Galaxy, DTCC and Intercontinental Exchange.
Blackrock is expected to deploy its BUIDL tokenised Treasury fund on Arc. DTCC is also examining the tokenisation of assets held by its Depository Trust Company subsidiary.
Circle has separately received final approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish Circle National Trust, a federally regulated national trust bank. New York regulators have also approved a limited-purpose trust company.
The company is extending USDC into machine payments through its Agent Stack, which is now being used by more than 900 paid services. Circle said 99.3% of agent-payment volume was settled in USDC.
The results underline Circle’s exposure to interest rates, since reserve income remains central to its business. At the same time, the company is becoming increasingly supported by transaction growth, institutional adoption and the development of new financial infrastructure.
With Arc’s launch approaching and USDC activity increasing faster than circulation, Circle’s next challenge will be turning the scale of its stablecoin into a broader and more durable financial platform.
