Circle
Circle Internet Group is a publicly traded (NYSE: CRCL) stablecoin and programmable money platform best known for USDC and EURC, serving banks, payment networks, fintechs, developers, and asset managers across more than 185 countries. Reserve income on stablecoin reserves drives the majority of revenue, supplemented by transaction fees and platform services.
- Company typePublic
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount1,001–5,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Circle does
Circle Internet Group, Inc. is a publicly traded (NYSE: CRCL) financial technology company founded in 2013 by Jeremy Allaire and Sean Neville, headquartered in Boston with offices in New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, Washington D.C., Miami, London, Dublin, Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Bengaluru, Singapore, Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong, Manila, and São Paulo. The company operates a stablecoin and programmable money platform serving banks, payment networks, fintechs, developers, asset managers, exchanges, and corporate treasuries across more than 185 countries.
Core products and infrastructure include USDC and EURC stablecoins, the USYC tokenized money market fund, cirBTC (wrapped Bitcoin), Circle Mint for institutional issuance and redemption, StableFX for FX, the Circle Payments Network (CPN) for cross-border settlement, the Arc enterprise Layer-1 blockchain (testnet October 2025), Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP), Wallets-as-a-Service, and developer APIs. The Agent Stack and the USDC Machine Payments Protocol position USDC as settlement infrastructure for AI-agent transactions.
The business model is overwhelmingly driven by reserve income: approximately 94% of revenue comes from interest earned on cash and short-dated U.S. Treasuries backing USDC and EURC reserves. Secondary revenue streams include CPN platform fees, USYC management and distribution fees, StableFX spreads, transaction-based fees on wallets and developer services, and enterprise platform subscriptions. Circle monetizes through direct enterprise contracts, exchange and wallet distribution partnerships, and DeFi protocol integrations.
Circle firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Circle
- Legal name
- Circle Internet Group, Inc.
- Website
- https://circle.com
- Company type
- Public
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1,001–5,000 employees
- Short description
- Circle Internet Group is a publicly traded (NYSE: CRCL) stablecoin and programmable money platform best known for USDC and EURC, serving banks, payment networks, fintechs, developers, and asset managers across more than 185 countries. Reserve income on stablecoin reserves drives the majority of revenue, supplemented by transaction fees and platform services.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Circle industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Stablecoin and Blockchain Infrastructure
- NAICS
- Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525), Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (52232), Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320), Depository Credit Intermediation (5221)
- SIC
- Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200), Finance Services (6199)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Stablecoin Issuers (Fiat-Backed) (FSADADAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Crypto Payments & Stablecoin Settlement Platforms (BPAMAFAL), Crypto Payment Gateways & Checkout APIs (FSADAIAA)
Keywords
Where Circle is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices7 records
Markets served
Circle business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Reserve income on USDC/EURC: The dominant revenue stream: Circle earns interest on the cash and short-duration U.S. Treasuries held in the USDC/EURC reserve. Reserve income accounted for ~94% of total revenue in the most recent disclosure; this scales with USDC circulation and prevailing short rates.
- USDC minting / redemption / transaction fees: Usage-based fees on enterprise minting, redemption, and on-chain USDC transfers, plus take-rate on settlement flows routed through the Circle Payments Network and StableFX.
- Circle Mint, Wallets and developer platform subscriptions: Recurring/enterprise platform fees for Circle Mint (institutional on/off-ramp), Circle Wallets, Arc blockchain node/validator services, and developer API tiers.
- Tokenized yield and partner stablecoin programs: Management/service economics on USYC and other tokenized products, plus share of partner-stablecoin issuance and circulation through the Circle Partner Stablecoins (CPN) program.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Enterprise platform (Circle Mint, CPN, Wallets, Arc) |
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | Developer API / Wallets / Contracts |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Circle Pay (US / CA & WY) |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Circle Invest (US) |
Go-to-market motion4 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels8 records
Circle product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Circle operates a full-stack platform for the internet financial system built on regulated stablecoins (USDC, EURC, USYC) and a suite of programmable money primitives. Its offerings include institutional minting/redemption (Circle Mint), 24/7 onchain FX (StableFX), a Layer-1 blockchain (Arc), a cross-border payments network (Circle Payments Network), developer APIs and SDKs (Wallets, Contracts, CCTP, xReserve, Gateway, Paymaster), and an AI-native agent stack (x402, MPP, Circle Skills/CLI).
Product overview
Circle is a full-stack platform for the internet financial system built on a platform-plus-modules architecture. Its core stablecoin offerings are USDC (regulated digital dollar) and EURC (regulated digital euro), complemented by USYC (tokenized money market fund) and cirBTC (wrapped Bitcoin). The digital asset services layer includes Circle Mint (institutional minting and redemption), StableFX (onchain FX), and Digital Asset Accounts (branded accounts). Circle Payments Network (CPN) and its Managed Payments service provide global stablecoin-powered cross-border settlement. Arc is Circle's Layer-1 blockchain serving as the Economic OS for the internet. The developer services layer — comprising Wallets, Contracts, CCTP, xReserve, Gateway, and Paymaster — provides the programmable building blocks, while the Circle Agent Stack (with Skills, CLI, Agent Wallets, Agent Marketplace, and the USDC Machine Payments Protocol specification) layers AI-native agentic capabilities on top. Circle operates under 55+ licenses globally, including MiCAR, NYDFS BitLicense, FCA, MAS, DFSA, BMA, and JFSA authorizations, supporting operations in 185+ countries.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- USDC: World's largest regulated digital dollar stablecoin, fully backed by cash and cash equivalent assets.
- EURC
- USYC
- cirBTC
- Circle Mint
- Circle Payments Network
- StableFX
- Arc
- CCTP (Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol)
- xReserve
- Gateway
- Circle Agent Stack
- Circle Ventures
Products and services
- USDC The world's largest regulated digital dollar. Fully backed by highly liquid cash and cash equivalent assets, designed for stability, and built for global business use in payments, trading, and onchain finance. Available in 185+ countries.
- EURC The world's largest regulated digital euro. Fully backed, fast, designed for stability, and built for global business with MiCA-compliant availability across the European Union.
- USYC An institutional-grade tokenized money market fund with near-instant redeemability to USDC. Issued by Circle International Bermuda Limited, regulated by the BMA, and represents an interest in the Hashnote International Short Duration Fund Ltd. Not available to US Persons.
- cirBTC Institutional-grade wrapped Bitcoin (1:1 BTC-backed) deployed on Ethereum using segregated custody and Chainlink Proof of Reserve for onchain verification. Issued through Circle's Bermuda-regulated subsidiary and positions Circle to compete with WBTC and Coinbase's cbBTC.
- Circle Mint Mint, redeem, reserve, and manage USDC directly from Circle at global scale. Supports international wires and domestic bank transfers in more than 185 countries. Available to institutions.
- StableFX Institutional-grade onchain FX powered by stablecoins. A collection of APIs and on-chain smart contracts that enable data sharing between counterparties to a transaction without intermediation by CTS, enabling 24/7 stablecoin FX access.
- Digital Asset Accounts Branded digital accounts that enable businesses to launch digital asset accounts for their customers.
- Circle Payments Network (CPN) One integration for global stablecoin-powered payments. A coordination layer operated by Circle Technology Services, LLC (CTS) that enables cross-border stablecoin transactions using USDC and EURC, connecting participating financial institutions for real-time settlement.
- CPN Managed Payments CPN Managed Payments offering that enables businesses to fund, manage, and send payouts using stablecoins without directly managing digital assets or blockchain infrastructure, with programmatically created wallets and USDC conversion for treasury purposes.
- Arc An open Layer-1 blockchain built to meet the demands of the global internet economy. Described as "The Economic OS for the internet" with planned post-quantum cryptographic protections using NIST-standard lattice-based algorithms including ML-DSA, CRYSTALS-Dilithium, and Falcon.
- Circle Agent Stack Full-stack AI-native developer platform comprising Circle Skills, Circle CLI, Agent Wallets, Nanopayments, and the Agent Marketplace to build AI-powered applications and enable AI agents to hold value, discover services, and transact programmatically.
- Circle Wallets Embed secure wallets in any application. Developer-facing service for integrating digital asset storage, payments, and transactions into apps with defined guardrails for applications and agents.
- Circle Contracts A curated library of customizable smart contract templates for tokenization and workflow automation, enabling developers to build and manage smart contracts on Circle's platform.
- CCTP (Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol) Transfer USDC natively between supported chains in seconds, more securely than traditional bridging. Circle's core cross-chain infrastructure enabling native USDC movement across 34+ blockchain networks.
- xReserve Launch a USDC-backed stablecoin on any blockchain. Enables chains and partners to issue their own stablecoins backed 1:1 by USDC locked in Circle's xReserve on Ethereum.
- Gateway Enable a unified USDC balance for instant crosschain liquidity in under 500 ms. Allows applications to access USDC liquidity across multiple chains through a single integration.
- Paymaster Enable seamless transaction experiences by allowing users to pay gas fees in USDC, abstracting native gas token requirements for end users.
Quantifiable outcome
- USDC market cap reached $73.8B, roughly 25x larger than PYUSD
- +6 more outcomes
Companies that use Circle
Customer profileNamed customers30 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Circle technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration17 records
AI capability6 records
Feature12 records
Circle partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
35 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.
- BlackRockflagshipStrategic partnership between Circle and BlackRock to explore digital-asset use cases, including institutional adoption of USDC and tokenized funds. BlackRock is also an investor/financial backer of Circle.
- CoinbaseflagshipJoint governance of USDC through the Centre Consortium legacy and ongoing USDC distribution, reserves, and ecosystem programs. Co-launch with Coinbase of x402, an HTTP-based payment protocol for AI agents using USDC.
- VisacoreVisa USDC settlement partnership enabling USDC settlement for acquirers, issuers and fintechs on the Visa network.
- MastercardcoreMastercard stablecoin settlement partnership enabling acquirers, fintechs and merchants to settle transactions in USDC across the Mastercard network.
- SBI HoldingsflagshipStrategic partnership in Japan for USDC distribution under JFSA e-money framework; SBC and SBI VC Trade listed USDC and support Circle's Japan expansion.
- NomuracoreStrategic partnership with Nomura to advance digital-asset initiatives in Japan, including USDC distribution and tokenization.
- SBI VC TradecoreSBI VC Trade listed USDC and is the Japanese crypto-asset exchange that distributes USDC under Circle's JFSA framework.
- Standard CharteredcoreFeatured customer and partner for cross-border settlement; co-collaboration on stablecoin banking use cases.
- BTG PactualcoreFeatured Latin American bank partner integrating USDC for cross-border and treasury flows; appeared on Money Movement Ep. 98.
- BNY MelloncoreCustodian and administrator for tokenized funds issued with Circle's infrastructure, including the Baillie Gifford tokenized money-market fund.
- StripeflagshipUSDC payments integration and co-collaboration on the Multi-Party Payments (MPP) protocol with Tempo.
- MoneyGramcoreUSDC-powered remittance and payout network; MoneyGram distributes USDC-funded payouts across its global retail network.
- NiumcoreCross-border payments partnership using USDC rails; featured on Money Movement Ep. 99 and Ep. 104.
- INFINIOScoreMiddle East Banking-as-a-Service partner integrating USDC rails for fintechs and corporates in the Gulf.
- LuLu Financial HoldingscoreMiddle East remittance partnership using USDC for cross-border payouts and consumer remittances.
- MeshminorMesh is a member of the Circle Partner Stablecoins (CPN) / Alliance Program, distributing Circle-aligned stablecoins and developer tooling.
- MassPayminorCPN partner for global payouts and remittance distribution using USDC.
- MunifyminorCPN partner neobank for USDC distribution to diaspora communities.
- UQPAYminorCPN partner for stablecoin payment acceptance and merchant onboarding.
- NuvionminorCPN partner for digital-asset distribution and global payouts.
- YordexminorCircle Payments Network partner for corporate payouts in the U.K. and Europe.
- AWScoreCloud infrastructure partner; Circle uses AWS CloudFront infrastructure for AI bots and developer services, and AWS is a key infrastructure provider for Circle's platform.
- HashnotecoreCircle acquired Hashnote to bring USYC tokenized T-bill yield product into Circle's platform.
- Solana FoundationcoreNative USDC issuance on Solana via Circle's issuer infrastructure; USDC is the first stablecoin approved for Solana-native use cases.
- ArbitrumcoreNative USDC and CCTP integration on Arbitrum; Circle supports Arbitrum as a primary L2 for USDC.
- CronoscoreNative USDC, EURC and CCTP support on Cronos; integration of xReserve for cross-chain USDC.
- Stellar Development FoundationcoreCCTP and native USDC integration on Stellar for payments and remittances.
- HyperliquidcoreUSDC ecosystem integration with Hyperliquid, including native USDC support for perpetual-dex liquidity.
- DTCCcoreTokenization pilot participant with DTCC and major U.S. banks (Bank of America, JPMorgan, Citi) using USDC for collateral mobility.
- Bank of KoreaminorEngagement with the Bank of Korea on CBDC and stablecoin research/coordination.
- FireblockscoreCircle and Fireblocks partner to enable Circle Payments Network participants (e.g., OpenPayd, Yellow Card) to deliver USDC payouts via Fireblocks rails.
- MorphominorCircle's venture arm invested in Morpho (DeFi lending protocol); Circle also explores USDC markets on Morpho Blue.
- Movement LabsminorCircle's venture arm backed Movement Labs; ecosystem projects like KAST, Sorted and Oro were launched on Movement.
- Yellow CardminorAfrica-focused stablecoin on/off-ramp platform using USDC rails, featured on Money Movement Ep. 104.
- Coins.phminorAsia-Pacific fintech using USDC rails for remittances.
Scale indicators11 records
Recent moves9 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Circle competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Tether: Tether issues USDT, the world's largest stablecoin by circulation. It is the most direct competitor to Circle's USDC, competing for global liquidity, exchange listings, and remittance corridors — though it operates outside the US regulatory perimeter Circle emphasizes.
- Coinbase: Coinbase is both USDC's largest distribution partner and a minority equity holder in Circle after the 2023 Centre Consortium dissolution. It is also a direct competitor in custody, USDC yield products (via Coinbase's own USDC rewards), and broader crypto infrastructure.
- Paxos: Paxos issues regulated USDP and PYUSD (for PayPal) stablecoins and runs a tokenized-asset and brokerage platform. It directly competes with Circle in regulated stablecoin issuance, BaaS, and tokenization, and is part of the same Mesh Alliance partner network.
Emerging players
- Ripple: Ripple issues RLUSD, an enterprise-grade USD stablecoin positioned for cross-border payments and institutional treasury, directly overlapping with Circle's USDC settlement and tokenization use cases especially with banking partners.
- MakerDAO: MakerDAO issues DAI, the largest decentralized stablecoin and a key USDC counterparty on Ethereum. It overlaps with Circle in DeFi liquidity, collateral markets, and programmable dollar access, though it operates as a decentralized protocol rather than a regulated entity.
Broad incumbents
- PayPal: PayPal issues PYUSD (issued by Paxos) and operates a global consumer and merchant payments network. It is roughly 25x smaller than USDC by market cap but competes directly for stablecoin-driven checkout and consumer digital-dollar use cases.
- Stripe: Stripe is both a flagship USDC distribution partner (via the x402 protocol and MPP) and a broader payments incumbent whose merchant and developer footprint could disintermediate stablecoin economics. Highly comparable on enterprise GTM and developer-first motion.
- Visa: Visa runs a USDC settlement partnership on Solana and is enabling bank-issued stablecoins on its Tokenized Asset Platform. It overlaps with Circle in cross-border settlement and card-network economics, and represents both a key partner and a structural competitor as bank stablecoins emerge.
- Mastercard: Mastercard expanded its network to permit USDC settlement across multiple chains (Arbitrum, Base, Canton, Ethereum, Polygon, Solana, Tempo, XRPL). Like Visa, it is both a flagship partner and a structural incumbent whose own stablecoin capabilities could compete with Circle.
Others
- Fireblocks: Fireblocks is a Circle Payments Network infrastructure partner (used by OpenPayd, Yellow Card and others for USDC payouts). It is an adjacent digital-asset custody and orchestration platform rather than a direct stablecoin issuer, but powers much of the institutional USDC movement off-platform.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Circle social profiles
Digital presenceCircle compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance14 records
Circle financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Circle leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles18 records
Circle subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries9 records
Circle funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds19 records
Investors55 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Circle M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A7 records
Investments76 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Circle
What does Circle do?
Circle operates a full-stack platform for the internet financial system built on regulated stablecoins (USDC, EURC, USYC) and a suite of programmable money primitives. Its offerings include institutional minting/redemption (Circle Mint), 24/7 onchain FX (StableFX), a Layer-1 blockchain (Arc), a cross-border payments network (Circle Payments Network), developer APIs and SDKs (Wallets, Contracts, CCTP, xReserve, Gateway, Paymaster), and an AI-native agent stack (x402, MPP, Circle Skills/CLI).
Is Circle a public or private company?
Circle is a public company. It is classified as public and is currently operating.
When was Circle founded?
Circle was founded in 2013. It employs 1,001 to 5,000 people.
Where is Circle based?
Circle is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does Circle make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Reserve income on USDC/EURC is the primary driver. The others are USDC minting / redemption / transaction fees, circle Mint, Wallets and developer platform subscriptions and tokenized yield and partner stablecoin programs.
Who are Circle's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Tether, Coinbase and Paxos. Emerging players are Ripple and MakerDAO. Broad incumbents are PayPal, Stripe, Visa and Mastercard. Fireblocks is listed as an others.
Does Circle have an API?
Yes. Circle offers REST APIs and smart contract templates for developers to build financial products on the platform. Developer-facing products include Circle Wallets, Contracts (smart contract templates), Mint (mint/redeem USDC), StableFX (onchain FX APIs), Circle Payments Network (cross-border settlement APIs), CCTP, xReserve, Gateway, Paymaster, and the Agent Stack (Skills and CLI). API Reference is published at developers.circle.com with endpoints such as /api-reference/wallets/common/ping. A Developer Console (console.circle.com) is available, along with a testnet faucet (faucet.circle.com) and sample projects (learn.circle.com). Developer documentation is at developers.circle.com.
What industry is Circle in?
Circle's product category is Stablecoin and Blockchain Infrastructure. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSADADAA, Stablecoin Issuers (Fiat-Backed), with a secondary code of BPAMAFAL, Crypto Payments & Stablecoin Settlement Platforms. Its NAICS code is 525 and its SIC code is 6200.