Circle reports $865 million in Q3 revenue and reserve income, discloses 5% workforce reduction

Stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group Circle Internet Group, Inc. (CRCL) reported $865 million in total revenue and reserve income for the third quarter, up 17% from a year earlier, according to its earnings release on Wednesday. 

Net income from continuing operations came in at $226 million, compared with $214.4 million in the same quarter last year. Adjusted EBITDA was $317 million, up from $171.5 million in Q3 2025. Circle previously reported $701 million in revenue and reserve income for the second quarter of this year, naming BlackRock, DTCC, and Visa among founding validators for its Arc blockchain.

Operating expenses rose 16% year over year to $245 million in the third quarter, the firm said, citing higher administrative, IT infrastructure, and marketing costs. Distribution, transaction, and other costs fell 8% to $412 million, mostly due to lower distribution payments, it added.

A footnote to the earnings tables also disclosed that Circle had reduced its workforce by approximately 5%, with the company booking $9.1 million in associated restructuring expenses, mainly for notice period and severance payments, employee benefits, and related costs. Circle said the reduction was designed to "better align our organizational structure with our operating model and strategic priorities," but did not give a headcount for the cuts. Circle had approximately 1,100 employees worldwide at the end of 2025, according to its annual report.

Of the $207 million Circle reported in other revenue, $182 million was recognized in Q3 from its ARC token presale. Other revenue had totaled $29 million in the third quarter of 2025. Circle agreed to sell a total of $242.2 million worth of ARC tokens in the presale at a purchase price of $0.30 per token and a $3 billion fully diluted valuation. Circle attributed the 85% increase in adjusted EBITDA to the presale revenue and lower distribution costs, partly offset by spending on new products.

Circle also maintained its full-year 2026 guidance, including $310 million to $330 million in other revenue and $570 million to $585 million in adjusted operating expenses.

USDC activity and Arc launch

Reserve income fell 8% year over year to $658 million as its reserve return rate declined by 61 basis points, the firm said. Circle's USDC stablecoin averaged $73.3 billion in circulation during Q3, an 8% increase from a year earlier. Onchain USDC transaction volume reached $13.9 trillion for the quarter, up 49% year over year. USDC circulation stood at $73.9 billion at quarter-end, unchanged from a year earlier, while Circle's stablecoin market share fell to 27%.

Circle opened Arc's public mainnet on Sept. 16, with more than 100 institutional and ecosystem builders on the network at launch. It also minted the initial supply of 10 billion ARC tokens, which the firm said was a technical milestone, not a commitment to launch them publicly. It expects Arc to move from proof of authority to proof of stake in 2027.

In September, Circle also agreed to acquire Tazapay, a Singapore-based payments firm with more than $25 billion in annualized payment volume. The firm expects the Tazapay acquisition to close in 2027, subject to regulatory approvals. Circle Ventures had led Tazapay's $36 million Series B extension in March. Binance also bought $100 million worth of Circle shares in September and signed a new five-year USDC agreement.