Circle has reported a 5% workforce reduction despite a 17% increase in Q3 revenue, driven by strong USDC performance.
Circle Cuts Workforce by 5% Amid Q3 Success
Circle has announced a workforce reduction of approximately 5%, coinciding with a successful third quarter in which the company's net profit rose by 5% to $226 million. The layoffs are part of a restructuring plan aimed at aligning the company's structure with its current operational model.
The total cost of severance and restructuring amounted to $9.1 million, although Circle did not disclose the exact number of employees affected. Despite the layoffs, the company's overall quarterly revenue surged by 17% year-over-year to reach $865 million, with adjusted earnings per share hitting $0.84, significantly surpassing analysts' expectations.
Circle's primary revenue source, interest from USDC reserves, declined by 8% to $658 million due to falling interest rates. However, this was offset by other revenue streams, including $182 million raised from the presale of the ARC token for the new Arc blockchain.
The circulating supply of USDC was recorded at $73.9 billion, although its market share among dollar-backed stablecoins decreased to 27%. Notably, on-chain transaction volume saw a substantial increase of 49%, reaching $13.9 trillion. Circle’s CEO Jeremy Allaire described the quarter as successful, highlighting that USDC accounted for 79% of all stablecoin transaction volume.
Q3 was a big quarter for Circle. USDC carried 79% of all stablecoin transaction volume, up from 66% a year ago, and $13.9T moved onchain (+49%). A record $208B of USDC was minted and redeemed, about $2.3B every day. We built Circle for this moment.
— Jeremy Allaire (@jerallaire) November 4, 2026
In May, Circle had announced the launch of the ARC token, raising $222 million during its presale from a group of investors that included a16z crypto, BlackRock, and Apollo Funds, valuing the network at $3 billion.
