Circle discloses 7 cents net profit per revenue dollar on USDC

How USDC revenue is split between Circle and its distribution partners determines who earns the interest on the reserves backing the token. Circle’s disclosure of a roughly 7 cent profit per revenue dollar arrives as its biggest partner, Coinbase, backs a rival network.

• Circle kept about 7 cents of net profit per revenue dollar in the first half of 2026.
• Distribution and transaction costs took $819 million of about $1.4 billion in first-half revenue.
• Watch whether Coinbase, Circle’s largest USDC partner, moves volume to Open USD, whose OUSD token is now live.

• 7 cents net profit per revenue dollar, against roughly 58 cents spent on distribution
• $819M distribution and transaction costs versus about $1.4 billion in first-half revenue
• $473M left for compliance, liquidity and product development after distribution costs
• $214M stock-based compensation and related costs, roughly 45% of that $473 million

Circle is defending its USDC revenue split as Coinbase, its largest distribution partner, backs a rival that aims to pass more reserve income to businesses, CoinDesk reported. Chief Commercial Officer Kash Razzaghi set out the figures in a blog post on Friday. Circle shares (CRCL) were at $82.25 when the market closed, down 5.43% on the day.

Circle says it kept 7 cents of profit per revenue dollar in the first half

Circle brought in about $1.4 billion in the first half of 2026, and distribution and transaction costs totaled $819 million. That is more than 58 cents of every revenue dollar, set against the roughly 7 cents Razzaghi said the company kept as net profit. The numbers sit at the center of a dispute over who gets the interest earned on assets backing stablecoins.

The remaining $473 million covered compliance, liquidity and product development, Circle said. About $214 million of that was stock-based compensation and related costs.

Razzaghi argued that reserve income must also fund redemption, compliance and liquidity, not only partner payouts.

The costs of redemption, compliance, and resilience don’t disappear just because the issuer declined to pay them.

Kash Razzaghi, Chief Commercial Officer, Circle

Coinbase backs Open USD, which passes reserve income to participants

Coinbase is Circle’s largest USDC partner, yet it also backs Open USD alongside Stripe and BlackRock. Unveiled in June, the network aims to let businesses mint and redeem stablecoins without fees. It passes reserve income, minus a management fee, to participants.

Circle’s post did not name Open USD, whose OUSD token is now live. Other competitors, including the Paxos-led Global Dollar Network (USDG), also share reserve income with participants.

Coinbase, Stripe, BlackRock and Paxos are not quoted in the CoinDesk report, so their view of Circle’s cost figures is not represented.

Binance’s $100 million stake and free redemptions anchor Circle’s reply

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. The agreement 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.

The BlockWest read. We read the post as a retention pitch aimed at partner balance sheets. Coinbase sits on both sides, so its USDC balances become the leverage point in any renegotiation. Circle now has a public cost ledger to defend its split, but partners can weigh it against no-fee minting and redemption on OUSD. We expect the contest to turn on redemption access and wallet-held balances, where Circle just added the Binance fee.

The open question is whether Coinbase shifts USDC volume toward OUSD now that the token is live. None of the Open USD backers, nor Paxos, is quoted answering Circle’s cost argument, so the partner side of the dispute is still unresolved.

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