Circle Q1 revenue rises 20% as USDC volume hits $21.5T
Circle reported Q1 revenue and reserve income of $694 million, up 20% year over year, as USDC on-chain volume jumped 263% to $21.5 trillion and circulation reached $77.0 billion.
Circle Internet Group reported first-quarter 2026 revenue and reserve income of $694 million on May 11, a 20% increase year over year. USDC on-chain transaction volume rose 263% to $21.5 trillion and USDC in circulation was $77.0 billion at quarter end.
Reserve income totaled $653 million, supported by higher average USDC circulation. Other revenue reached $42 million from subscription, services and transaction activity. Adjusted EBITDA increased 24% to $151 million. Total revenue and reserve income declined from $770 million in Q4 2025 to $694 million in Q1 2026.
Circle reported that the $21.5 trillion figure covers native and canonically bridged USDC processed across supported blockchains and excludes Solana. The company said market-making repricing activity on Aerodrome accounted for roughly $9 trillion of a $9.6 trillion quarter-over-quarter increase in USDC on-chain volume.
Product and commercial activity during the quarter included a $222 million presale for the ARC Token at a $3 billion fully diluted valuation, with investors such as a16z crypto, Apollo Funds, BlackRock and ARK Invest. Circle released tools aimed at linking AI capabilities with payments and financial infrastructure, including Circle CLI, Agent Wallets and an Agent Marketplace for AI-driven tokenized transactions.
Circle introduced Managed Payments to let financial institutions use stablecoin settlement without directly handling digital assets. The company disclosed integrations with treasury and commercial platforms including Kyriba, and Polymarket continued to use USDC as its primary collateral and settlement asset. Circle cited Visa Onchain Analytics showing USDC accounted for 63% of stablecoin transaction volume during the quarter.
Jeremy Allaire, Circle’s CEO, described the quarter as evidence of strong execution amid the convergence of AI platforms and economic operating systems into a new internet stack. The company said its AI-related tools and payments integrations could affect revenue in future periods.
Circle issues USDC, a dollar-pegged stablecoin, and earns reserve income from assets backing currency in circulation. An increase in USDC circulation and transaction activity raises the funds the firm can place in short-term reserves, which in turn boosts reserve income. Quarterly reports separate reserve income from other revenue such as subscription and services, and management highlighted both components in the Q1 results.
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