Circle is defending its business model as Coinbase, its largest distribution partner, backs a rival that aims to give businesses more income from stablecoin reserves. The firm brought in about $1.4 billion in the first half of 2026, while distribution and transaction costs totaled $819 million.
Finance Circle defends USDC economics as stablecoin rivals court its partners with bigger cut Coinbase, Circle’s largest USDC partner, also backs Open USD, a rival network that passes reserve income to partners after a management fee. By Francisco Rodrigues | Edited by Nikhilesh De Oct 17, 2026, 9:06 p.m. EDT 2 min read Make preferred on Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Make preferred on (Nikhilesh De/CoinDesk) Summary Show Circle said it kept about 7 cents of profit per revenue dollar in the first half of 2026, after $819 million of $1.4 billion went to distribution and transaction costs. Coinbase, Circle’s largest USDC partner, also backs Open USD, a rival network that passes reserve income to partners after a management fee. Circle argued reserve income must also fund redemption, compliance and liquidity, and says standard USDC redemptions remain free. Stablecoin issuer Circle CRCL $82.25 · Market Closed is defending its business model as Coinbase, its largest distribution partner, backs a rival that aims to give businesses more income from stablecoin reserves. In a blog post on Friday, Chief Commercial Officer Kash Razzaghi wrote that Circle kept about 7 cents in net profit for each dollar in revenue made during the first half of 2026. The firm brought in about $1.4 billion, while distribution and transaction costs totaled $819 million. The post puts the figures at the center of a dispute over who gets the interest earned on assets backing stablecoins. Circle said the remaining $473 million covered compliance, liquidity and product development. That figure also included about $214 million in stock-based compensation and related costs. Coinbase is Circle’s largest USDC partner, but is also a backer of Open USD, along with Stripe and BlackRock. Open USD, unveiled in June , aims to let businesses mint and redeem stablecoins without fees, while passing off reserve income minus a management fee to participants. Circle’s post did not name Open USD, whose OUSD token is now live, directly, and there are other competitors like the Paxos-led Global Dollar Network (USDG) that also share reserve income with participants. “The costs of redemption, compliance, and resilience don’t disappear just because the issuer declined to pay them,” Razzaghi wrote. Circle has also been working to secure additional distribution partners. In September, Binance bought a $100 million stake in the firm under a five-year deal that includes a fee tied to USDC held through Circle’s wallet service. Circle said standard USDC redemptions remain free and “typically settle in up to two business days.” Qualifying platform customers and payment flows through Circle Payments Network can now access near-real-time redemptions at no cost, it said. Circle Stablecoins Related Stocks Market Closed Circle Internet Group $82.25 -5.43% Latest Crypto News 1 Goldman, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley see tokenization as a growth play, not a threat 8 hours ago 2 Citrini sees a tokenization boom. The harder question is who profits 10 hours ago 3 Polygon sees Coinme acquisition as entry to payments sector dominated by Visa, Stripe 11 hours ago 4 Banks could slow stablecoin growth by paying savers more, BIS paper finds 13 hours ago 5 ‘Wow, it’s a real discovery’: Claude cracks a 25-year NSA number mystery 18 hours ago 6 Satoshi-era bitcoin faces a bigger quantum threat after Google’s new Willow breakthrough 22 hours ago 7 Big Tech’s AI auditors will only see what they’re shown 1 day ago 8 Traders will soon be able to bet on whether Coinbase, Robinhood and Marathon will hit their targets 1 day ago 9 Circle targets 40 new markets as stablecoin demand grows globally 1 day ago 10 Quantum Alliance forms amid warnings 6.4 million bitcoin face future quantum threat 1 day ago Latest Research Beyond the Risk-Free Rate: Diversified Real World Yield in Productive Stablecoins Beyond the Risk-Free Rate: Diversified Real World Yield in Productive Stablecoins Diversified RWA stablecoins sustain 5-7% yield from real credit as crypto funding compresses to ~4%. GENIUS pushes yield off-chain; TAM grows to $4B in 3 years. By CoinDesk Research Sep 24, 2026 Commissioned by RealFi Diversified RWA stablecoins sustain 5-7% yield from real credit as crypto funding compresses to ~4%. GENIUS pushes yield off-chain; TAM grows to $4B in 3 years. Why it matters : Diversified RWA stablecoins sustain 5-7% yield from real credit as crypto funding compresses to ~4%. GENIUS pushes yield off-chain; TAM grows to $4B in 3 years. View Full Report More From Finance Goldman, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley see tokenization as a growth play, not a threat Citrini sees a tokenization boom. The harder question is who profits Polygon sees Coinme acquisition as entry to payments sector dominated by Visa, Stripe