Circle’s $865M Quarter Gets a 5% Reshuffle as USDC’s Engine Cools 🪙

Circle Internet Group (NYSE:CRCL), the issuer of USDC, reduced its workforce by about 5% while reporting third-quarter revenue and reserve income of $865 million, up 17% year over year, and net income from continuing operations of $226 million, up 5%. Adjusted EBITDA rose 85% to $317 million. The company did not disclose the number of employees affected or the teams involved. It recorded $9.1 million in restructuring expenses, primarily cash payments for notice periods, severance, employee benefits and related costs, partly offset by a $5.7 million reversal of stock-based compensation after departing employees forfeited unvested shares. Circle described the reduction as “designed to better align our organizational structure with our operating model and strategic priorities.” It had previously cut “less than 6%” of jobs in December 2024.

Core reserve income declined 8% to $658 million from roughly $711 million as the return rate on assets backing USDC fell 61 basis points to 3.5%. Other revenue increased 627% to $207 million, including $182 million raised through the presale of ARC, the token for Circle’s Arc blockchain. Distribution costs fell to $409.2 million from $447.2 million, while revenue minus distribution costs increased 55% to $453 million. Operating expenses rose 16% to $244.9 million, and Circle maintained full-year adjusted expense guidance of $570 million to $585 million, saying the final figure depends on hiring.

Average USDC circulation increased 8% year over year to $73.3 billion, but circulation ended the period unchanged at $73.9 billion. USDC accounted for 27% of the dollar stablecoin market, down 183 basis points, while onchain transaction volume increased 49% to $13.9 trillion. Circle created and redeemed a total of $104 billion in USDC. CEO Jeremy Allaire said USDC carried 79% of all stablecoin transaction volume, up from 66% a year earlier, while Circle’s payments network ended the quarter at $41 billion in annualized volume, up 15-fold. CPN annualized TPV grew 15.2x year over year with 205 financial institutions enrolled.

Circle launched the public mainnet of its Arc blockchain on September 16 with 11 founding validators and more than 100 applications; BlackRock, DTCC and Visa were among its permissioned validators. The company agreed to acquire payments firm Tazapay, plans to enter about 40 emerging and developing markets, and has partnered with ACI Worldwide to pilot USDC settlement on Colombia’s instant-payments network. Circle continues to target 40% yearly USDC growth over several years. Allaire wrote, “In January, the GENIUS Act takes effect and regulated digital dollars go mainstream,” adding, “Every layer of our platform is live and ready for it.”

The filing did not mention artificial intelligence (AI), although Allaire said in May that 85% of Circle staff used AI tools weekly. “I think we’re very early in the impact of AI agents on the conduct of work and how that plays out through labor.” The workforce reduction came as Circle expanded during a broader crypto-industry round of job cuts that included a 14% reduction at Coinbase in May, citing weaker markets, artificial intelligence or both.