Circle, the issuer of USDC stablecoin, cut approximately 5% of its workforce in the third quarter while reporting net income of $226 million, according to its earnings release on Wednesday. The restructuring charges totaled $9.1 million.
Circle did not disclose which teams or the exact number of employees affected. The company said the reduction was “designed to better align our organizational structure with our operating model and strategic priorities,” according to its statement.
The $9.1 million in restructuring expenses consisted mainly of cash payments for notice periods, severance, employee benefits and related costs. A $5.7 million reversal of stock-based compensation from departing employees partly offset these charges.
CEO Jeremy Allaire called the quarter “a big quarter for Circle” in public comments but did not mention the job cuts. The cuts were disclosed in footnotes to financial tables in the earnings release.
Revenue and USDC Growth
Circle’s total revenue and reserve income reached $865 million, up 17% year-over-year. Net income from continuing operations rose 5% to $226 million. Adjusted EBITDA jumped 85% to $317 million.
USDC in circulation averaged $73.3 billion in Q3, up 8% year-over-year, and ended the quarter at $73.9 billion. The stablecoin’s share of the U.S. dollar stablecoin market stood at 27%, while its share of all stablecoin transaction volume rose to 79% from 66% a year earlier.
Much of the revenue growth came from outside Circle’s core business. The company generated $182 million from presale of the ARC token for its Arc blockchain. Other revenue totaled $207 million. Reserve income, Circle’s largest revenue source from assets backing USDC, fell 8% year-over-year as interest rates on reserves declined.
Arc Blockchain and Expansion
Circle launched Arc blockchain mainnet in September with BlackRock, DTCC and Visa as permissioned validators. More than 100 institutions and apps are live on Arc mainnet.
The company recorded $208 billion in USDC minting and redemption in Q3, with average daily minting and redemption of $2.3 billion. Circle’s payments network processed $41 billion in annualized volume, up 15-fold.
Allaire stated that Circle plans to enter 40 emerging and developing markets. “In January, the GENIUS Act takes effect and regulated digital dollars go mainstream,” Allaire said. “Every layer of our platform is live and ready for it.”
Circle also partnered with ACI Worldwide to pilot USDC settlement on Colombia’s instant-payments network.
Context of Broader Layoffs
Circle’s reduction follows workforce cuts across the crypto industry in 2026. Coinbase cut 14% of its workforce in May. The Ethereum Foundation cut 20% of staff in June. BitGo cut 15% of staff in June. Luno cut 20% of its global staff in July. Bitwise cut 14% of staff in August.
