By Bitcoin News | Created at 2026-10-20 13:56:42 | Updated at 2026-10-20 14:53:46
57 minutes ago
Circle generated about $1.4 billion in revenue during the first half of 2026, but retained only about 7 cents of net profit for every dollar earned after partner payments and infrastructure spending.
Key Takeaways
- Circle made $1.4B in H1 2026 but kept just 7% as profit after distribution and infrastructure costs.
- USDC processed $36T+ onchain as Circle expanded free, near-real-time redemptions 24/7/365.
- Stablecoin competition is shifting toward who can scale distribution without crushing issuer margins.
Circle Sends 59% of Revenue to USDC Partners and Costs
Circle is putting numbers behind the economics of running one of crypto’s largest stablecoins.
The company generated approximately $1.4 billion in revenue in the first half of 2026, according to Chief Commercial Officer Kash Razzaghi. Of that, about $819 million (59%) went to USDC distribution partners and transaction costs.
Another $473 million, roughly 34%, was spent on licensing, banking relationships, liquidity, compliance, product development and blockchain integrations.
That left approximately 7% as net profit.
Circle Says Stablecoin Scale Is Expensive
Circle’s disclosure comes as competition intensifies among issuers promising to return more reserve income to partners and users.
Razzaghi argues that framing overlooks the cost of operating a stablecoin at global scale.
“A stablecoin is not a software product. It is monetary infrastructure, and it has to be financially sound,” he wrote.
Circle says it maintains more than 55 licenses and registrations, relationships with over 25 banks and native USDC deployments across more than 35 blockchains.
The company also pre-positions cash with banking partners to process redemptions outside conventional banking hours, sacrificing some yield in exchange for liquidity.
USDC Redemptions Move Closer to 24/7
Circle is now extending that infrastructure further.
Customers using the Circle Payments Network, along with eligible Circle Platform clients, can access free, near-real-time USDC redemptions 24/7/365. Standard redemptions remain free and typically settle within two business days.
Circle says it minted and redeemed more than $315 billion of USDC during the first half, equal to roughly $1.7 billion per day, including weekends and holidays.
In the second quarter alone, combined minting and redemption volume reached $170 billion, up 105% from a year earlier.
$36 Trillion Shows Why the Economics Matter
USDC processed more than $36 trillion in onchain transaction volume in H1 2026.
By June, Circle says the stablecoin accounted for roughly 77% of global stablecoin transaction volume, up from 60% a year earlier.
That scale makes Circle’s revenue breakdown particularly significant.
The debate around stablecoins is increasingly shifting from who can issue a digital dollar to who can distribute it, redeem it quickly, and keep enough economics to support the infrastructure underneath.
As Razzaghi put it, the real question is “how much can be shared while continuing to fund the infrastructure that makes the stablecoin useful in the first place.”
