Circle Q3 total revenue and reserve income reach $865 million; USDC transactions rise 49%

The 17% increase contains two different movements

Circle's total combines $658 million of reserve income with $207 million of other revenue. Adding those components gives $865 million. Reading only the total would miss the decline in reserve income alongside the rise in the other category. Circle reported reserve income down 8% year over year and other revenue up 627%. Circle lists the two revenue components in its Q3 results.

The company attributed the reserve-income decline primarily to a 61-basis-point decrease in its reserve return rate, partially offset by an 8% increase in average USDC in circulation. The explanation ties the revenue line to both the return rate and the average circulation measure. A larger average USDC balance therefore coexisted with lower reported reserve income in this quarter.

Other revenue contained $182 million from the ARC token presale. Circle also said lower subscription and services revenue partly offset that contribution. That distinction belongs near the headline because the presale is a named component of the quarter's increase. Treating every dollar of the $207 million as subscription or payments revenue would change what Circle reported.

Source for every row: Circle's third-quarter results release, published 4 November. Odaily's same-day report repeats these amounts and changes. The table keeps the company's total, component revenues and profit measures on separate rows, so that the growth percentage for one measure cannot be mistaken for another.

How much of other revenue came from the presale?

The calculation is $182 million ÷ $207 million × 100, or about 87.92%. On the reported figures, the presale accounts for roughly 88% of other revenue. Measured against total revenue and reserve income, $182 million ÷ $865 million × 100 gives about 21.04%. These percentages are our arithmetic on Circle's reported amounts.

Subtracting the presale amount from other revenue leaves $25 million: $207 million minus $182 million. That residual is useful when reading the composition of the quarter. It does not supply a new company-defined revenue category, a normalized earnings result or a forecast of what the next quarter will contain.

The same caution applies to subtracting $182 million from the $865 million total. The arithmetic leaves $683 million of total revenue and reserve income excluding that named revenue amount. It supplies no adjustment to expenses, taxes or other items. Calling $683 million “underlying profit” would turn a revenue subtraction into a profit claim unsupported by the release.

A reader comparing headlines can use those calculations to ask a narrower question: which reported category grew, and what did management say contributed to it? Here, reserve income declined while the other-revenue category included the presale. That is a more specific reading than assuming the 17% total increase describes a uniform expansion across every source of income.

USDC circulation and transaction volume measure different things

Circle reported average USDC in circulation of $73.3 billion during the quarter, up 8% year over year. It separately reported $13.9 trillion of USDC onchain transaction volume, up 49%. Circle reports both operating indicators in the financial highlights. Keep “average” attached to circulation and “transaction volume” attached to the activity figure. The release's headline operating indicators do not describe the same quantity.

The $13.9 trillion figure records activity across the quarter as Circle reports it. It cannot be relabelled as $13.9 trillion of new money entering USDC, exchange trading volume or unique users. None of those descriptions appears in the quoted operating indicator. An article that substitutes one would claim more than the financial release establishes.

The growth rates differ by 41 percentage points: 49% minus 8%. That comparison shows transaction volume grew faster than average circulation in the reported year-over-year figures. It does not identify which wallets generated the increase, how much activity belonged to particular exchanges or how much came from new holders.

Dividing $13.9 trillion by $73.3 billion gives about 189.63. This is a mechanical ratio of the two reported quarterly measures. It is not a count of transfers by an average person, because neither figure supplies a count of people. For most account checks, retaining the two original measures is more useful than assigning that ratio a meaning the release does not provide.

Profit increased more slowly than adjusted EBITDA

Circle reported $226 million in net income from continuing operations, a 5% year-over-year increase. Adjusted EBITDA rose 85% to $317 million. The company identifies adjusted EBITDA as a non-GAAP financial measure. The release includes its definition and reconciliation.

Management said the adjusted EBITDA increase reflected ARC token presale revenue and lower distribution costs, partly offset by increased investment in costs related to new products. Total distribution, transaction and other costs were $412 million, down 8%. Operating expenses were $245 million, up 16%, while adjusted operating expenses were $139 million, up 13%.

Those figures show why attaching “profit up 85%” to the release would need a precise label. The 85% increase belongs to adjusted EBITDA; the 5% increase belongs to net income from continuing operations. Keep the metric name when comparing the quarter with an earlier period or when recording a figure beside a CRCL position.

The report identifies Circle Internet Group as the NYSE-listed company with ticker CRCL and separately discusses USDC circulation. A USDC balance and a CRCL equity position need separate records. The earnings measures concern the company; they do not turn a holder's stablecoin balance into a claim for the reported company revenue or earnings.

Checks for someone holding or transferring USDC

Start with the asset already in your account. Record whether you are reviewing USDC or a position labelled CRCL. Copy the balance or position details from that account before interpreting an earnings headline. This prevents the issuer's stock-related financial results from being mixed into a worksheet meant to track a stablecoin transfer.

For a planned USDC transfer, inspect the precise receiving network and address in the destination's deposit screen. Compare them with the network and address selected at the sending end. The earnings release is evidence about quarterly financial and operating results; it does not verify the deposit route or transfer status of a particular account.

If an order is already open, preserve its instrument name, size and order record. Check the record for any actual change before attributing one to the earnings release. Neither Circle's reported transaction-volume increase nor its revenue total establishes that an individual order filled, that a transfer arrived or that a venue changed its USDC settings.

First, compare the network and full destination address shown in the receiving account with the sending form before confirming a transfer. Second, check any existing order by its instrument, size and recorded status. Keep the transfer record separate from the order record so that the result of one operation is not used to mark the other complete.

What to compare when reading the next results

A comparable reading begins with the same labels: average USDC circulation, USDC onchain transaction volume, reserve income and other revenue. Keep each reporting period attached to its values. A quarter's transaction-volume figure and its average circulation are not interchangeable with an end-of-day account balance or a single live market snapshot.

For revenue, preserve the component breakdown alongside the total. This quarter's $182 million presale contribution explains why an increase in the combined figure can occur while reserve income falls. A later report would need its own breakdown before the same explanation could be applied. The present release does not establish the amount or composition of future revenue.

For profitability, compare net income with net income and adjusted EBITDA with adjusted EBITDA. Circle's 5% and 85% increases refer to those separate measures. The difference between the two growth rates is a prompt to read their definitions and reported drivers, rather than a basis for selecting whichever percentage makes the stronger headline.

Quick answers

Did Circle's reserve income grow 17%?

The 17% increase applies to total revenue and reserve income of $865 million. Reserve income itself was $658 million and fell 8% year over year. Other revenue was $207 million, including $182 million from the ARC token presale.

Does $13.9 trillion mean that much new money entered USDC?

Circle labels the number USDC onchain transaction volume for Q3 2026. It does not label it net inflows, exchange turnover or unique-user balances. Average USDC circulation was a separate $73.3 billion measure.

Is the $25 million calculation an adjusted profit figure?

It is the remainder of $207 million in other revenue after subtracting the reported $182 million presale contribution. The calculation changes a revenue component; it does not account for expenses or establish normalized profit.

What should a USDC holder check after the headline?

Identify the asset and any existing order first. For a transfer, compare the actual network and destination address at both ends. The quarterly figures do not verify a particular account's receiving route or transaction status.