Circle, the company that issues the USDC stablecoin, shared big growth numbers for the last part of 2025. A stablecoin is a type of digital money that tries to stay close to the value of a real world currency. In this case, USDC is designed to stay close to the value of the U.S. dollar. You can think of it as a digital dollar that exists on many computer networks called blockchains. If you want to learn more about USDC, you can read the simple definition here: USDC (cryptocurrency).
Two big facts came out: the amount of USDC people are using keeps growing a lot, and the amount of activity on the blockchain where USDC moves is also rising quickly. By the end of December 2025, Circle said there was about $75.3 billion in USDC in use. That is a 72% increase from a year earlier. In the fourth quarter alone, the total value of transactions that happened on-chain using USDC reached $11.9 trillion. That is a huge jump, up 247% from the same period last year.
Let’s break down what Circle reported about its money and profits, and then we’ll explain some of the big projects Circle is working on.
Circle’s fourth-quarter results
For the quarter that ended on December 31, 2025, Circle said it earned $770 million in total revenue and reserve income. This number is higher than the same quarter in 2024 by 77 percent. Revenue is the money a company earns from its main business. Reserve income is money Circle earns from keeping a reserve of assets to support USDC. Together, these give a picture of the company’s money coming in during the quarter.
Circle also reported that net income from continuing operations rose to $133 million in the fourth quarter. Net income is the amount left after all expenses are paid. This was up by $129 million compared with the previous year. Circle also mentioned an adjusted EBITDA of $167 million for the quarter. EBITDA stands for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. It is a way some companies measure operating performance by focusing on core business profits and ignoring some non-cash or irregular costs. The word “adjusted” means some numbers are changed to give a better view of ongoing performance; it removes unusual items. In this quarter, adjusted EBITDA grew by 412%, which is a big jump in this measure.
Looking at the full year 2025, Circle said it earned $2.7 billion in revenue and reserve income. This is a 64% increase from 2024. But for the year as a whole, Circle reported a net loss of $70 million. In 2024, the company had a net income of $157 million. The loss in 2025 was mainly caused by $424 million in stock-based compensation tied to vesting conditions that were triggered by Circle’s initial public offering (IPO).
To help a beginner understand these terms: stock-based compensation is a way companies reward employees with company stock or stock options. Vesting means those rewards become truly owned by the employee over time or after certain milestones. An IPO is when a private company sells its shares to the public for the first time. When a company goes public, it can record large stock-based costs, which can affect the bottom line, even if the company is growing in other areas.
A message from Circle’s leader
C Circle’s co-founder and CEO, Jeremy Allaire, commented on the results. He said that USDC adoption continued to expand globally as more businesses, developers, and public institutions started using digital dollars in real-world payments, treasury work, and on‑chain financial workflows. He added that there was strong activity across Circle’s platform. He also noted progress toward launching the Arc mainnet, continued growth in total payment value on the platform (CPN TPV), and growing momentum for EURC and USYC. In plain words, he is saying more people and groups are using Circle’s digital money in more places, and the company is working on new versions of its technology called Arc and related currencies.
What Arc is and why it matters
Circle’s Arc is a public test network, known as a testnet. A testnet is a special version of a network used to try new features without using real money. Arc started with more than 100 participants from many areas like banking, capital markets, digital assets, payments, and technology. The goal is to make Arc ready to become a main network, or mainnet, where real-value transactions can happen.
As of February 20, 2026, the Arc testnet has shown very strong performance. It has almost perfect uptime (meaning it rarely stops working), transaction finality of about half a second (the time it takes for a transaction to be confirmed), and an average of 2.3 million transactions per day over the last 30 days. Since Arc began, it has processed more than 166 million transactions in total. Circle says Arc is on track to launch its mainnet this year, which would let people and companies use Arc in real life with real value behind it.
Arc is part of Circle’s broader goal to improve how money moves on the internet. A mainnet is the real version of a network where actual money and assets live. A testnet is used to try things first before they go on the mainnet. Explaining in simple terms: think of Arc as a video game development environment where developers test new features before those features are released in the actual game that real players use every day.
The Circle Payments Network and partners
Circle is building a Payments Network. This network connects many banks and financial institutions to help move money and USDC more easily. The company said the network now has 55 enrolled financial institutions. There are another 74 institutions that are still reviewing whether they can join. In the last year, this network has handled a large amount of transactions and is expected to grow further as more institutions participate. Circle reported an annualized transaction volume of $5.7 billion based on the most recent 30 days of data. Put simply, this shows how much money is moving through the network every year if the current pace continues.
Circle has formed partnerships with several well-known organizations. These include Visa, a large credit card company; Intuit, the maker of QuickBooks; the Government of Bermuda; and Polymarket, a prediction market platform. Circle also shared that it has received conditional approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to set up a national trust bank. This is a big step because it could allow Circle to hold and manage customers’ money in a regulated, nation-wide banking framework. The OCC is the U.S. government agency that oversees national banks and licensed branches of foreign banks. You can read a simple explanation of the OCC here: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
Why these numbers and projects matter
All these results and plans show that Circle is growing its business in several different ways. The growth in USDC in circulation means more people and companies are using this digital dollar. The huge increase in on-chain transaction activity suggests more transactions are being settled or settled faster on the blockchain. The earnings numbers show that the company is expanding its operations, even though its bottom line for the year was affected by one-time costs related to stock compensation tied to going public.
Beyond the numbers, Circle is building the infrastructure for a new kind of money movement that blends traditional finance with blockchain technology. This includes USDC, EURC (a Euro-backed stablecoin), and USYC (a yuan-focused stablecoin) and the Arc network, which aims to make payments and transfers faster, cheaper, and more reliable across different institutions and countries.
For readers who want a very simple takeaway: Circle is growing how much digital money people are using, where that money can move easily across many platforms, and how regulators and partners are helping to make this system safer and more scalable. It is a sign of momentum in the field of digital currencies and blockchain-powered payments, but it also comes with the usual financial complexities that come with rapid growth and new tech projects.
Key terms explained with simple definitions
- Circle Internet Group — Circle (legally Circle Internet Group, Inc.) is a payments technology company that issues stablecoins such as USDC and EURC and enables movement of USDC across blockchains; co-founded by Jeremy Allaire and Sean Neville and later listed publicly in 2025. Learn more here: Wikipedia.
- USDC (cryptocurrency) — USDC is a cryptocurrency stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar, issued by Circle (via the Centre ecosystem) and used across multiple blockchains; its governance and reserves have evolved over time, including the dissolution of the Centre consortium in 2023. Learn more here: Wikipedia.
- Stablecoin — A stablecoin is a type of cryptocurrency designed to maintain a stable value relative to a specific asset, usually by holding reserve assets or using algorithms to stabilize price. Learn more here: Wikipedia.
- Office of the Comptroller of the Currency — The OCC is a U.S. treasury bureau that charters, regulates, and supervises national banks and federally licensed branches and agencies of foreign banks. Learn more here: Wikipedia.
- Jeremy Allaire — Jeremy D. Allaire is an American technologist and entrepreneur, co-founder and CEO of Circle, and a well-known figure in the tech and startup world. Learn more here: Wikipedia.
Notes for readers new to these topics:
- On-chain means actions are recorded on a public ledger called a blockchain. Each transaction is a small piece of data stored in the system, and “finality” is the moment when the system confirms that a transaction is complete and cannot be reversed.
- Mainnet vs. Testnet: A mainnet is the real network where people can send and receive real digital money. A testnet is a practice version used by developers to test new features without using real money.
- Revenue vs. net income: Revenue is money earned from all business activities. Net income is what remains after all costs and expenses are paid. A positive net income means the company earned money; a net loss means expenses were higher than revenue for that period.
- Stock-based compensation and vesting: Sometimes a company gives employees stock options as a reward. Vesting is the schedule that lets employees own those options fully over time or after meeting certain goals. IPO stands for initial public offering, which is when a private company sells its shares to the public for the first time.
Overall, Circle’s results show more use of USDC around the world, and the Arc project shows strong testing progress toward a faster, more connected network for digital money. If Arc moves to mainnet this year, it could help more banks and companies move money quickly and securely using Circle’s digital dollars. If you want to follow these topics in more detail, you can look up the official press releases from Circle and the related background on the terms above.
Leave a Reply