Circle: First-half revenue $1.4 billion, nearly 60% allocated to partner and transaction costs.

BlockBeats news, October 16: Circle announced on October 16 that in the first half of 2026, USDC on-chain settlement volume exceeded $36 trillion, while Circle minted and redeemed over $315 billion worth of USDC during the same period, averaging about $1.7 billion per day. The company said that as of June, USDC accounted for about 77% of global stablecoin transaction volume, up from 60% a year earlier.

Of greater market interest is USDC's revenue distribution. Circle disclosed that in the first half, the company generated about $1.4 billion in revenue, of which about $819 million went to USDC distribution partners and transaction costs, accounting for about 59% of revenue; another approximately $473 million was invested in licenses, banking partnerships, settlement liquidity, compliance systems, product development, and multi-chain deployment, accounting for about 34%. Under the announcement's framework, for every $1 in revenue Circle earns, it ultimately retains only about 7 cents in net profit.

The announcement may be responding to market skepticism that "stablecoin issuers monopolize reserve income." Circle stated that partners can share in the corresponding reserve income by holding and expanding USDC balances on their own platforms; currently, more than 150 trading platforms, wallets, banks, fintech companies, payment platforms, and enterprises have formed economic interest ties with USDC's growth. Circle also mentioned that Binance signed a five-year commercial agreement with it in September and invested $100 million in Circle.

On the product side, Circle announced an expansion of its free redemption mechanism: all Circle customers can still redeem USDC for free through traditional banking channels, with funds typically arriving within no more than two business days; eligible customers making payments through the Circle Payments Network or using products such as Arc, Circle Mint, and Circle Wallets will gain access to free, near-instant redemption capabilities.