Circle Posts $865 Million Q3 Revenue, Cuts 5% of Workforce

Circle Internet Group reported $865 million in total revenue and reserve income for the third quarter, a 17% increase year over year, according to its earnings release on Wednesday. The same filing disclosed a roughly 5% workforce reduction, with $9.1 million in restructuring charges booked during the quarter.

Net income from continuing operations came in at $226 million, compared with $214.4 million in the same quarter last year. Adjusted EBITDA reached $317 million, up 85% from $171.5 million, though that figure deserves scrutiny: $182 million of it traces to token presale revenue rather than the core stablecoin business.

Where did the growth actually come from?

Reserve income, Circle's largest and most durable revenue line, fell 8% year over year to $658 million as the reserve return rate declined by 61 basis points. The shortfall was offset almost entirely by the ARC token presale, which contributed $182 million of the $207 million Circle booked in other revenue. A year earlier, other revenue totaled just $29 million.

Circle agreed to sell $242.2 million worth of ARC tokens in the presale at $0.30 per token, implying a $3 billion fully diluted valuation. The company attributed the 85% EBITDA jump to presale proceeds and lower distribution costs, partly offset by spending on new products. In plain terms, a one-off token sale carried the quarter; the underlying reserve engine weakened.

Operating expenses rose 16% year over year to $245 million, driven by higher administrative, IT infrastructure, and marketing costs. Distribution, transaction, and other costs fell 8% to $412 million, mostly on lower distribution payments.

What do the layoffs signal?

The workforce reduction appeared only in a footnote to the earnings tables, not in the headline commentary. Circle said the move was designed to "better align our organizational structure with our operating model and strategic priorities," but did not disclose a headcount for the cuts. The company had approximately 1,100 employees worldwide at the end of 2025, according to its annual report, which puts the reduction at roughly 55 positions.

The $9.1 million in restructuring charges covered notice period and severance payments, employee benefits, and related costs. A profitable company cutting staff while maintaining guidance suggests reprioritization rather than distress, but the absence of detail leaves the rationale unverified. The takeaway: Circle is trimming even as it spends on new products.

How is USDC performing?

USDC averaged $73.3 billion in circulation during the quarter, up 8% from a year earlier, and closed the period at $73.9 billion, unchanged year over year. Onchain transaction volume reached $13.9 trillion for the quarter, up 49%.

Yet Circle's stablecoin market share fell to 27%. Volume is growing faster than circulation, and share is shrinking — a combination that signals competitive pressure even as usage deepens.

What comes next for Arc and Tazapay?

Circle opened Arc's public mainnet on Sept. 16 with more than 100 institutional and ecosystem builders on the network at launch, naming BlackRock, DTCC, and Visa among founding validators from the prior quarter's disclosures. It minted an initial supply of 10 billion ARC tokens, which the firm called a technical milestone rather than a commitment to a public launch. Arc is expected to move from proof of authority to proof of stake in 2027.

In September, Circle also agreed to acquire Tazapay, a Singapore-based payments firm processing more than $25 billion in annualized payment volume; the deal is expected to close in 2027, subject to regulatory approvals. Circle Ventures had led Tazapay's $36 million Series B extension in March. Separately, Binance bought $100 million worth of Circle shares in September and signed a new five-year USDC agreement.

Circle maintained its full-year 2026 guidance, including $310 million to $330 million in other revenue and $570 million to $585 million in adjusted operating expenses. The market will learn whether presale-driven growth can persist once the ARC token supply hits public markets and the proof-of-stake transition approaches in 2027.