Circle Internet Group reported roughly $1.4 billion in revenue for the first half of 2026 and retained about 7 cents of net profit for every dollar of revenue, according to a company blog post published on Friday and covered by The Block.
The remainder of the revenue was allocated to partners and operating costs. About $819 million was paid to USDC distribution partners and transaction costs, while roughly $473 million was reinvested in infrastructure and compliance, along with product development.
The blog post was framed as a response to newer stablecoin projects that argue existing issuers keep too much revenue, charge high redemption fees, and could be displaced by more efficient models. Circle COO Kash Razzaghi wrote:
"That reinvestment is not overhead. It is what makes USDC useful, and it reflects more than 8 years of building. A digital dollar has to work everywhere: redeemable at any hour, held by regulated institutions, and moving natively across the chains and platforms where businesses operate."
The scale argument
USDC processed more than $36 trillion in on-chain transaction volume and accounted for about 77% of global stablecoin transaction volume in June, up from 60% a year earlier. According to a Standard Chartered report released this week, stable-coin monthly transfer value has averaged nearly $10 trillion this year.
The margin context
The 7-cent margin figure shows how much of the revenue is retained after paying partners and covering costs. Distribution partners, including the exchanges and platforms that enable users to hold and move USDC, represent a sizable share of the economics. For example, in September Binance took a $100 million equity stake in Circle alongside a five-year USDC agreement, illustrating the scale of distribution-related arrangements.
Regulatory recognition also plays a role. The European Banking Authority recently designated USDC as the EU's first "significant" e-money token, a status that both strengthens Circle's market position and adds compliance obligations.
Circle will publish its third-quarter results on Nov. 4. In an investor note last month, William Blair analysts said Circle could benefit from a broader crypto recovery, regulatory rulemaking, growing tokenized-asset activity, and diversification, which could support the stock into 2027.
The stablecoin market is increasingly about margins and cost structures. Circle's disclosure provides a clearer view of where its money goes, but the ultimate impact on its valuation will become evident after the upcoming earnings release.
Sources
- The Block: Circle details USDC revenue split, says $819 million went to partners and costs in H1 2026
- The Block: Binance takes a $100 million Circle stake alongside five-year USDC deal
- The Block: EBA designates Circle's USDC as the EU's first "significant" e-money token