Circle Q2 revenue $701M; USDC circulation $73.3B

Circle reported Q2 2026 results on Aug. 5, posting $701 million in total revenue and reserve income, a 7% increase year over year. The figure fell short of analyst consensus near $720 million. Diluted earnings per share were $0.18, above expectations, and shares rose in premarket trading.

USDC in circulation ended the quarter at $73.3 billion, down from $77.0 billion at the end of March and below a 2026 peak near $80.0 billion. On a year-over-year basis circulation was up about 19%. Onchain USDC transaction volume rose 151% year over year to $14.8 trillion.

Reserve income, the yield Circle earns on assets backing USDC, totaled $668 million, up 5% from a year earlier. Circle attributed the increase to a roughly 25% rise in average USDC in circulation over the period, partially offset by a 66 basis-point decline in the reserve return rate. The company noted reserve income scales with the amount held in reserve rather than transaction frequency.

Total distribution, transaction and other costs were $412 million, about 59% of total revenue, leaving revenue less distribution costs near 41%. Those costs rose 1% year over year while revenue rose 7%.

Net income from continuing operations was $48 million, reversing a prior-year loss driven by a one-time IPO-related stock-compensation charge. Adjusted EBITDA rose 8% to $143 million. Reported operating expenses fell 56% to $254 million, largely because the prior year included the IPO compensation charge; adjusted operating expenses increased 23% to $146 million as Circle continued investing in product development, infrastructure and artificial intelligence.

Circle Payments Network reached $14.7 billion in annualized transaction volume for the trailing 30 days as of quarter end, up 76% sequentially. The network had 175 financial institutions enrolled, a 29% increase from the prior quarter. Jeremy Allaire, co-founder and CEO, commented that the results reflected the current rate environment and a slower crypto market, while near-term activity showed stronger usage on the network.

Circle raised full-year 2026 guidance for other revenue to a range of $310 million to $330 million from a prior range of $150 million to $170 million, citing recognized ARC Token presale revenue. Other revenue in Q2 was $34 million, up 41% from subscriptions and services.

The company confirmed a Sept. 16 public mainnet launch for Arc, with more than 100 ecosystem and institutional builders. Arc will include privacy features, an agent stack for programmable finance, support for tokenized real-world assets, and a cohort of third-party institutional validators.

Circle received final approval to establish Circle National Trust, a federally chartered trust that allows the firm to custody USDC reserves under federal supervision. The Coinbase distribution agreement is scheduled for renewal in August 2026.