​Circle says USDC settled $36T in H1 2026, revenue hits $1.4B

Circle (CRCL) generated roughly $1.4 billion in revenue in the first half of 2026, with $819 million going to USDC distribution partners and transaction costs, according to a company blog post on Friday.

USDC, Circle’s dollar-pegged stablecoin, processed more than $36 trillion in onchain transaction volume during the first six months of the year. The company claimed it accounted for approximately 77% of global stablecoin transaction volume by June, up from 60% a year earlier.

Circle also minted and redeemed more than $315 billion worth of USDC during the period, averaging approximately $1.7 billion daily, including weekends and holidays.

Circle’s chief commercial officer, Kash Razzaghi, outlined the figures, explaining the economics behind USDC and how the company distributes revenue among its partners while funding the infrastructure supporting the stablecoin.

Coinbase and Binance lead USDC's partner network

Circle reported that roughly 59 cents of every dollar in first-half revenue went to payments to USDC distribution partners and transaction costs, totaling about $819 million.

The company also spent approximately $473 million, or 34 cents of every revenue dollar, on licensing, banking relationships, settlement liquidity, compliance programs, product development and blockchain integrations.

Circle retained approximately seven cents in net profit for every dollar earned during the period.

According to Razzaghi, these investments support USDC's availability across different jurisdictions, banking systems and blockchain networks. They also help the company process large volumes of minting and redemptions while maintaining the liquidity customers need to convert between USDC and fiat currencies.

Circle argued that compliance, redemption and financial resilience costs remain necessary even when stablecoin issuers promise to distribute a larger share of their economics to partners.

The company also noted that its revenue-sharing model rewards partners based on the amount of USDC they bring to the market and maintain on their platforms.

The blog post also mentioned that Coinbase, Circle’s largest and longest-standing partner, reported that average USDC balances held in its products reached a record $20 billion in the second quarter, representing 44% YoY growth.

Circle also highlighted Binance, which signed a five-year commercial agreement and invested $100 million in the company in September. More than 150 other partners have economic interests in USDC's growth, including exchanges, wallets, banks, fintech companies and payment platforms.

Circle added that its customers can redeem USDC for free through standard banking channels, with settlement typically taking up to two business days.

Customers using the Circle Payments Network or qualifying products on the Circle Platform can also access free redemptions with near-real-time settlement, subject to eligibility requirements.

CRCL is trading at $82.4, down over 5% at the time of writing, as it joins the broader equity selloff.