Circle defends USDC economics as stablecoin rivals court its partners with bigger cut
Circle, the issuer of USDC, is defending its business model as competitors like the Paxos-led Global Dollar Network and the 'Open USD' initiative offer more attractive revenue-sharing models to partners. Circle maintains that its fees are necessary to cover the costs of compliance, liquidity, and operational resilience.
Why it matters
The stablecoin industry is entering a phase of intense competition where issuers must balance profitability with the need to incentivize distribution partners.
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.
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