Circle: H1 Revenue $1.4 Billion, Nearly 60% Spent on Partners and Transaction Costs

Circle announced on October 16 that in the first half of 2026, USDC on-chain settlement volume exceeded $36 trillion, while Circle minted and redeemed over $315 billion in USDC during the period, averaging approximately $1.7 billion per day. The company stated that as of June, USDC accounted for about 77% of global stablecoin transaction volume, up from 60% a year earlier.

More closely watched by the market is USDC's revenue distribution. Circle disclosed that it generated approximately $1.4 billion in revenue in the first half, of which about $819 million was used for USDC distribution partners and transaction costs, accounting for roughly 59% of revenue; another approximately $473 million was allocated to licensing, banking partnerships, settlement liquidity, compliance systems, product development, and multi-chain deployment, representing about 34%. Based on the announcement's metrics, for every $1 in revenue Circle earns, it ultimately retains only about 7 cents in net profit.

The announcement may be a response to market criticism that "stablecoin issuers exclusively capture reserve yields." Circle stated that partners can share corresponding reserve yields by holding and expanding USDC balances on their own platforms; currently, more than 150 trading platforms, wallets, banks, fintech companies, payment platforms, and enterprises have formed economic interest alignment with USDC growth. Circle also mentioned that Binance signed a five-year commercial agreement with it in September and invested $100 million in Circle.

On the product front, Circle announced an expansion of its free redemption mechanism: all Circle customers can still redeem USDC for free through traditional banking channels, with settlement typically completed within two business days; eligible customers using Circle Payments Network for payments, or products such as Arc, Circle Mint, and Circle Wallets, will gain access to free, near-real-time redemption capabilities.