USDC Stablecoin Supply Jumps $2.6 Billion
The total circulation of USDC grew by $2.6 billion in the past week, bringing its total supply to $73.1 billion. Circle issued $8.4 billion and redeemed $5.8 billion during the period. The stablecoin's reserves, totaling $73.4 billion, are diversified across overnight repos and short-term U.S. Treasuries.
- Circle's revenue is predominantly generated from interest earned on its USDC reserves; in 2024, the company earned $1.68 billion, with 99% coming from this interest income. - While Tether (USDT) remains the largest stablecoin by market capitalization, USDC has surpassed it in year-over-year growth for the second consecutive year as of early 2026. - A significant portion of USDC's reserves is managed by BlackRock within the Circle Reserve Fund, which holds short-term U.S. Treasury securities and overnight reverse repurchase agreements. - Institutional adoption is a primary growth driver, with USDC being integrated by over 1,100 global partners for uses like B2B cross-border payments, reducing reliance on traditional correspondent banks. - To facilitate multi-chain interoperability, Circle's Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP) processed $31 billion in seamless USDC transfers in the third quarter of 2025, a 740% year-on-year increase. - On-chain data indicates that USDC is favored for larger transactions, with the average transfer size ranging from $75,000 to $80,000, compared to $30,000 to $35,000 for USDT on Ethereum. - Regulatory clarity is influencing market dynamics; Circle was the first stablecoin issuer to comply with the European Union's Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) framework, which has favored USDC adoption over non-compliant competitors in the region. - Circle is expanding its product suite beyond the stablecoin, launching the institutional-focused Arc blockchain and acquiring the tokenized U.S. Treasury fund, USYC, to offer yield-bearing instruments on-chain.
