Circle Q3 Revenue Rises 17% to $865M on ARC Token Sale as Reserve Income Falls

Circle’s (CRCL) third-quarter revenue and reserve income rose 17% to $865 million, as per the company’s latest Q3 earnings report. The total included $182 million from the presale of ARC, the native token of Circle’s Arc blockchain. The presale lifted other revenue to $207 million from $29 million a year earlier.

Reserve income, the interest Circle earns on the assets backing USDC, fell 8% to $658 million. Circle said the decline came mainly from a 61 basis point drop in its reserve return rate, to 3.5%. Average USDC in circulation grew 8% to $73.3 billion, which partly offset the lower rate.

Presale Comes With Repayment Rights

Net income from continuing operations rose 5% to $226 million. Adjusted EBITDA climbed 85% to $317 million, which Circle said reflected the presale revenue and lower distribution costs.

As CryptoPotato reported, the company agreed in May to sell 740 million ARC tokens at $0.30 each, a sale that raised about $222 million from investors led by a16z crypto.

The token agreements give buyers repayment rights in specified cases. Those rights apply, among other cases, if Arc has not switched to a proof-of-stake system by May 8, 2028. Circle launched Arc’s public mainnet on September 16, and the release says the network is working toward that switch in 2027.

Likewise, the stablecoin giant kept its 2026 forecast for other revenue at $310 million to $330 million, which counts presale revenue.

Circle Cuts 5% of Staff

A footnote in the release discloses a workforce reduction of about 5%, and that reduction cost $9.1 million in third-quarter restructuring charges, mostly severance and notice-period payments. The reduction was designed to “better align its structure” with its operating model and strategic priorities.

Adjusted operating expenses, which exclude restructuring and stock-based pay, rose 13% to $139 million. Circle kept its full-year range for that measure at $570 million to $585 million.

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