Circle beats Q3 estimates as ARC token sale cushions reserve yield drop
- Circle reported $865 million in third-quarter revenue, beating estimates.
- $182 million came from its ARC token presale, which masked an 8% drop in reserve income tied to lower yields.
- Circle is leaning on new revenue lines while its rate-sensitive core softens.
Circle Internet Group (NYSE: CRCL) outperformed Wall Street expectations as it reported $865 million in Q3 2026 revenue on Wednesday.
The $182 million beat on analyst estimates of third-quarter revenue, which came in around $788 million, was boosted by the ARC token presale. The presale helped Circle make up for the potential letdown from slowing income on USDC stablecoin reserves due to falling rates.
The CRCL stock inched downward after the results came out, trading at $74.25, down nearly 1% from its previous close at $75.22 on November 3.
How did Circle do in Q3 2026?
Circle’s total revenue and reserve income rose 17% year-over-year. The USDC issuer also reported a 5% boost in net income from continuing operations to $226 million, and adjusted EBITDA came in at $317 million, up 85%.
The headline $865 million figure beat Wall Street estimates, which ranged from $788 million to $802 million, with a 40-cent EPS consensus. Analysts pointed to falling rates on reserve assets and financial commitments tied to new products as potential pressure points for the numbers Circle reports.
Circle attributed the 8% drop in income on the short-term assets backing USDC to $658 million to a 61 basis-point decline in its reserve return rate. The hit from the 3.5% decline was partly offset by a 7% increase in circulating USDC supply to $73.3 billion, averaging 8% growth for the quarter.
While the shrinking yield and circulating supply growth canceled each other out, on-chain USDC transaction volume posted a healthy 49% year-over-year increase to $13.9 trillion.
Arc presale opens new income route
The one-time ARC presale event accounted for $182 million of the $207 million Circle logged under the “Other Revenue” category. The non-recurring income came from raising about $222 million from offering ARC, the native token of the Arc blockchain, to investors, such as a16z crypto (now a16z Frontier), BlackRock, Apollo and Intercontinental Exchange.
Arc’s public mainnet went live on September 16 with more than 100 institutional and ecosystem builders on day one, a list that includes BlackRock, the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation and Visa.
Circle also completed a genesis mint of 10 billion ARC tokens, becoming the first publicly traded company to mint a network token for a new layer-one blockchain.
Arc is expected to open a new revenue route, as it grows as a chain that uses USDC as gas, turning on-chain activity into demand for its own product.
During the same quarter, Circle revealed a $100 million equity commitment from Binance and a USDC partnership renewal. The company also signed a deal to buy Singapore cross-border payments firm Tazapay, expected to close in 2027, and USDC became a front-of-shirt brand on Chelsea Football Club kits for the 2026/27 season.
The smartest crypto minds already read our newsletter. Want in? Join them.
FAQs
How much did Circle's ARC token presale raise?
The presale raised about $222 million at a $3 billion fully diluted valuation, with a16z crypto, BlackRock, Apollo and Intercontinental Exchange among the investors. Circle booked $182 million of that as revenue in the third quarter.
Why did Circle's reserve income fall in Q3 2026?
Reserve income dropped 8% to $658 million because the reserve return rate fell 61 basis points to 3.5%, a decline only partly offset by 8% growth in average USDC in circulation to $73.3 billion.
When did Circle's Arc blockchain go live?
Arc's public mainnet launched on September 16, 2026, with more than 100 institutional and ecosystem builders on day one, including BlackRock, the DTCC and Visa.
Hannah Collymore
Hannah is a writer and editor with nearly a decade of blog writing and event reporting experience in the crypto space. At Cryptopolitan, Hannah contributes to the news page, reporting and analyzing the latest developments in DeFi, RWA, crypto regulation, AI and frontier tech industries. She graduated from Arcadia university with a degree in Business Administration.
