Ripple Mint Threatens Circle's USDC Model Amid Revenue-Sharing Agreement Pressure

Ripple's launch of Ripple Mint has been reported as a product story, but it is also seen as a strategic move amid Circle's business model pressure.

The timing of Ripple Mint's release may impact Circle's revenue-sharing agreement with Coinbase, which is set to renew in August.

Circle operates a float-capture model, collecting the full income earned on Treasuries backing USDC and retaining a 38% share, paying the remainder to distribution partners. The largest partner is Coinbase, which receives approximately half of USDC's reserve income under a revenue-sharing agreement.

Ripple Mint, on the other hand, embeds RLUSD in customer infrastructure, unlike Circle's partner model, making Ripple structurally insulated from margin compression.