8% decline in Circle reserve income as ARC presale boosts Q3 revenue

• $865 million was Circle’s Q3 revenue. Reserve income nevertheless fell 8%.
• A 49% rise took USDC onchain transaction volume to $13.9 trillion, alongside an 8% increase in average circulating supply to $73.3 billion over the quarter.
• With $182 million in ARC token presale revenue and reduced distribution costs providing support, adjusted EBITDA advanced 85% to $317 million.

$182 million from the ARC token presale offset Circle’s decline in reserve income. In its Q3 earnings update on Wednesday, Circle (CRCL) reported higher revenue.

Q3 revenue rises at Circle as ARC presale lifts earnings

At $865 million, the stablecoin issuer’s combined revenue and reserve income was 17% above the year-earlier level in Q3. Adjusted EBITDA rose 85% to $317 million, alongside a 5% increase in net income from continuing operations to $226 million.

Lower distribution costs and revenue from the presale of its blockchain’s ARC token partly accounted for the adjusted EBITDA gain, Circle said. The presale contributed $182 million to revenue from "other" sources, which surged 627% year on year to $207 million. In contrast, reserve income declined 8% to $658 million. A lower rate of return on reserves partly counteracted the growth in average USDC circulation.

An 8% year-on-year increase brought average USDC circulation to $73.3 billion for the quarter. Onchain transaction volume, meanwhile, expanded 49% to $13.9 trillion.

Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said: “In Q3, we saw continued proof that institutions are building and expanding on USDC,”

Among the key Q3 milestones, Allaire highlighted Tereina’s integration of USDC and EURC into the SAP ecosystem, Visa’s shift to commercial stablecoin prefunding and Binance’s renewed partnership with Circle. Annualised total payment volume on Circle Payments Network reached $41.3 billion over the quarter, the company said.

On 16 September, Circle launched the Arc blockchain’s public mainnet, with more than 100 institutional and ecosystem builders involved from launch. For Allaire, the network provides infrastructure to develop “the next generation of financial applications.”

Q3 results extend Circle’s strong H1 revenue performance

Circle’s latest figures follow its first-half performance in 2026. As reported in earlier reporting, the company recorded approximately $1.4 billion in revenue and USDC onchain transaction volume of more than $36 trillion.

Over that period, more than $315 billion worth of USDC was minted and redeemed, equivalent to a daily average of $1.7 billion, according to Circle. USDC distribution partners and transaction costs accounted for 59 cents of every dollar of H1 revenue, or about $819 million in total, the company said.

At $76.5, CRCL is trading 1.7% higher on the day.