Circle Internet Group, the New York-based stablecoin and digital payments company, reported total revenue and reserve income of $694 million for the first quarter of 2026, a 20% increase year-over-year. USDC in circulation reached $77.0 billion at quarter end, representing 28% growth, while USDC on-chain transaction volume surged 263% to $21.5 trillion. Adjusted EBITDA grew 24% to $151 million, though net income from continuing operations declined 15% to $55 million as higher stock-based compensation and increased investment weighed on the bottom line.
A major business highlight of the quarter was the $222 million presale raise for the ARC Token at a $3 billion fully diluted network valuation, drawing investment from a consortium including a16z crypto, Apollo Funds, ARK Invest, BlackRock, Bullish, General Catalyst, Haun Ventures, Intercontinental Exchange, IDG Capital, Janus Henderson Investors, Marshall Wace, SBI Group, and Standard Chartered Ventures. Circle also published the ARC Token whitepaper, outlining how a native coordination asset could support governance, security, and network operations on its Arc network.
Circle continued to expand the utility of its digital asset platform during the quarter, with USDC representing 63% of stablecoin transaction volumes according to Visa Onchain Analytics. The company’s Circle Payment Network reached $8.3 billion in annualized transaction volume based on trailing 30-day activity as of March 31, 2026, and in April Circle launched Managed Payments, allowing financial institutions to offer stablecoin payments without managing digital assets directly. As of May 7, Circle’s USYC product became the world’s largest tokenized money market fund.
Circle also announced its Agent Stack, a suite of new infrastructure products including Circle CLI, Agent Wallets, and Agent Marketplace designed to enable developers and merchants to create, fund, and monetize agent-driven activity in USDC across multiple blockchains and payment protocols. New USDC use case expansions include an integration with Kyriba to embed USDC capabilities into enterprise treasury systems and Polymarket’s adoption of USDC as its core collateral and settlement asset. Circle reaffirmed its prior guidance on key performance indicators for the year, excluding the future financial impacts of the ARC Token presale and Arc revenue streams.
KEY QUOTE:
“Circle’s first quarter reflected strong execution against a much bigger opportunity: the rapid convergence of AI platforms and economic operating systems into a new internet stack. With the ARC token presale, momentum behind the Arc network, and the launch of our Agent Stack, we are building trusted infrastructure for AI-native economic activity and a more programmable internet financial system.”
Jeremy Allaire, Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman, Circle Internet Group
