According to ChainCatcher, Circle said in an Oct. 16 announcement that USDC recorded more than $36 trillion in onchain settlement volume in the first half of 2026. During the same period, Circle minted and redeemed more than $315 billion in USDC, equal to roughly $1.7 billion a day on average.
The company said that, as of June, USDC accounted for about 77% of global stablecoin transaction volume, up from 60% a year earlier.
How Circle says USDC revenue is split
A central part of the disclosure was the way revenue tied to USDC is distributed. Circle said it generated about $1.4 billion in revenue in the first half. Of that total, about $819 million went to USDC distribution partners and transaction costs, representing about 59% of revenue. Another roughly $473 million, or about 34%, was allocated to licensing, banking partnerships, settlement liquidity, compliance systems, product development and multichain deployment.
Using the company’s stated framing, Circle said it ultimately keeps only about $0.07 in net profit for every $1 of revenue.
Response to questions over reserve income
The announcement appears to address market criticism that stablecoin issuers capture reserve income for themselves. Circle said partners can share in the related reserve earnings by holding and expanding USDC balances on their own platforms. The company added that more than 150 exchanges, wallets, banks, fintech companies, payment platforms and enterprises are now economically aligned with USDC growth.
Circle also said Binance signed a five-year commercial agreement with it in September and invested $100 million in the company.
Free redemption expanded for eligible users
On the product side, Circle said it is expanding its free redemption mechanism. All Circle customers can still redeem USDC for free through traditional banking channels, with funds usually arriving within no more than two business days.
Eligible customers using Circle Payments Network for payments, or using products including Arc, Circle Mint and Circle Wallets, will be able to access free, near-instant redemption.