USDC Circulation Drives Circle Revenue, Not Transaction Velocity

Circle's revenue is driven not by the velocity of USDC transactions but by the circulation of the stablecoin. This means that even though trillions of dollars are moving across the network, it's the number of USDC in circulation that determines Circle's reserve income.

In Q2 2026, Circle processed $14.8 trillion in onchain transaction volume for USDC, a 151% increase year-over-year. However, this figure does not translate directly into revenue. In fact, transaction revenue was just $5.3 million, while reserve income accounted for $667.7 million of the total $701.3 million in revenue.

The key metric driving Circle's revenue is USDC circulation. The stablecoin's circulating supply reached $73.3 billion at the end of Q2 2026, up 19% year-over-year. This increase added approximately $147.4 million to year-on-year reserve income.

However, falling interest rates took roughly $113.9 million away from this gain, reducing the average reserve yield by 66 basis points. Despite this, Circle's reserve income still increased by $33.5 million, or 5.3%.