Circle posts $865 million Q3 revenue, cuts 5% of workforce

Circle reported $865 million in third-quarter revenue and reserve income on November 4, up 17% from a year earlier. The USDC issuer also cut about 5% of its staff. Its biggest earner, interest on reserves, fell 8%.

The numbers came from Circle Internet Group's own earnings release, posted ahead of a results call set for 8 a.m. in New York, which is 13:00 UTC. CoinDesk and other outlets reported the layoffs the same morning. Circle linked the cut to a $9.1 million restructuring charge booked in the quarter.

Circle is a fairly new name on the public market. It listed on the New York Stock Exchange in June 2025, which is why every quarter now brings this kind of scrutiny of a business most people only meet through the USDC in their wallet.

What Circle reported

Net income from continuing operations reached $226 million, up 5% on the year. Adjusted EBITDA, a measure of operating profit, rose 85% to $317 million. Average USDC in circulation sat at $73.3 billion, up 8%. Onchain transaction volume told the louder story. It hit $13.9 trillion over the quarter, a 49% rise.

The profit beat forecasts by a wide gap. Adjusted earnings came in at 84 cents a share against the 37 cents analysts had expected, CoinDesk reported.

One line needs a flag. Roughly $182 million of the quarter's revenue came from a private presale of ARC, the token behind Circle's new Arc blockchain. That is a one-time item, not a recurring stream. Strip it out and the top line looks flatter. Coinbase's third quarter leaned on gains from crypto it holds, a reminder that headline profit at crypto firms often rests on items outside the core business.

Why the core business earned less

Reserve income is the interest Circle earns on the cash and Treasury bills that back every USDC in circulation. Think of a bank earning interest on the deposits it holds. When central banks cut rates, that income shrinks, whatever the deposit pile does.

That is what happened. Reserve income fell 8% to $658 million. Circle blamed a 61 basis point drop in what it calls the reserve return rate, the average yield on those backing assets. More USDC in circulation softened the blow but did not erase it.

So the picture splits in two. Profit rose, helped by the ARC presale and tighter costs. The earner underneath, the part that runs on interest rates, ran slower.

USDC is still the runner-up

USDC is the second-biggest dollar stablecoin, and its main rival keeps the crown. Circle's share of the fiat-backed stablecoin market slipped to 27% during the quarter, down 183 basis points from a year earlier, Bitcoin.com News reported. Tether's USDT still holds most of the supply. Growing transaction volume is one thing. Taking share is another.

The job cuts

Circle trimmed about 5% of its workforce during the quarter. It booked $9.1 million in restructuring expenses, mostly severance and notice pay, plus a $5.7 million reduction in stock compensation from forfeited share awards. The company said the move was meant to better align its structure with how it now runs.

What it did not say matters too. Circle gave no headcount for the reduction and named no teams. It kept its full-year guidance in place.

Jeremy Allaire, Circle's co-founder, chief executive and chairman, struck an upbeat note on the business. "In Q3, we saw continued proof that institutions are building and expanding on USDC," he said. A profitable quarter. And layoffs anyway.

How Circle is trying to diversify

Circle does not want to depend on interest rates forever. It brought its Arc blockchain to public mainnet on September 16, a payments-focused network that minted 10 billion ARC tokens at launch and is due to move to proof of stake in 2027. Allaire said the firm launched Arc with more than 100 institutional partners and builders.

During the quarter Circle also agreed to buy Tazapay, a Singapore payments company that handles more than $25 billion in annual volume across over 100 markets. The deal points toward fees from moving money rather than yield on reserves. That same ARC presale which flattered the quarter is part of the build-out. Whether any of it can replace $658 million a quarter in reserve income is an open question. Not yet, it cannot.

What it means for people holding USDC

Falling reserve income does not change the backing of the token. Each USDC is still meant to redeem for one dollar, held against cash and short-term government debt. Holders do not receive that interest. Circle keeps it, which is the whole business model, and it is why the company's fortunes rise and fall with rates rather than with the token's price.

Layoffs do not touch reserves either. They are a cost decision at the company, not a change to what sits behind the coin. For a user, the practical takeaway is small. For Circle's shareholders, a shrinking core earner and a one-off token sale propping up the quarter are the parts worth reading twice.

What to watch

Reserve income will track interest rates more than anything Circle controls. Further rate cuts would press on it again. The payments push, the Arc network and the Tazapay deal are the hedge, and none of them yet earns at the scale of reserve income. How fast Circle grows transaction volume, and whether the job cuts slow that push, are the questions for the next quarter.