Circle, the issuer of the $USDC stablecoin, generated about $1.4 billion in revenue in the first half of 2026. Most of that went to partners and costs, leaving a thin but positive profit marg
Circle, the issuer of the $USDC stablecoin, generated about $1.4 billion in revenue in the first half of 2026. Most of that went to partners and costs, leaving a thin but positive profit margin.
In the first half of 2026, Circle generated approximately $1.4 billion in revenue and paid approximately $819 million of it to USDC distribution partners and transaction costs, according to the company's own blog post. That equates to about 59 cents of each revenue dollar.
Another roughly $473 million, about 34 cents of each dollar, went back into the business, covering licenses, bank relationships, settlement liquidity, compliance, new products and blockchain integrations, wrote Chief Commercial Officer Kash Razzaghi. Circle kept "7 cents of net profit from every dollar of revenue earned." On roughly $1.4 billion of revenue, that implies a profit of around $98 million, though Circle's post expresses the figure as a margin rather than a dollar amount.
The disclosure comes as competition in the stablecoin market grows. It is part of the company's response to criticism from new stablecoin entrants that established issuers keep too much revenue, charge too much for redemptions and could be displaced by more efficient models.Circle said its revenue-sharing model rewards partners based on the amount of USDC they bring to the market and maintain on their platforms.
Circle also pointed to the scale of the network behind those costs. USDC settled more than $36 trillion in onchain transaction volume in the first half, and Circle minted and redeemed more than $315 billion of USDC, about $1.7 billion every day.By Circle's count, USDC handled roughly 77% of global stablecoin transaction volume in June, compared with 60% a year earlier.
Coinbase is the largest partner. Coinbase reported an average in-app USDC balance of $20 billion during the second quarter, a record and a 44% year-over-year increase. Market data providers have also reported that $655.3 million of distribution and transaction costs was paid to Coinbase under partnership agreements, although that figure comes from secondary coverage rather than Circle's blog post.
The split matters because Circle's revenue is mostly interest earned on the reserves backing USDC. In its second-quarter results, Circle reported USDC in circulation of $73.3 billion at quarter end, up 19% year over year, and total revenue and reserve income of $701 million, up 7%. A 7% net margin is modest for a company of this size, but it remains profitable while Circle spends heavily on compliance and product development.
Sources
Circle: The Economics of USDC and Why Our Partners WinUnchained: Circle says 59 cents of each revenue dollar went to USDC partners and transaction costsNasdaq/Business Wire: Circle Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results
