Circle Q2 Revenue Jumps 53% as USDC Supply Hits $65.2 Billion and Arc Blockchain Unveiled

Circle, the issuer of the U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin USDC, reported a significant surge in financial performance during the second quarter of 2025, driven by robust growth in its stablecoin ecosystem and the launch of a new blockchain infrastructure. The company’s total revenue for Q2 reached $658 million, marking a 53% year-over-year increase, while adjusted EBITDA rose by 52% to $126 million. USDC's circulating supply expanded by 90% year-over-year, reaching $61.3 billion by June 2025 and growing further to $65.2 billion by August 10, 2025 [1].

The growth in revenue and USDC adoption was accompanied by a $482 million net loss in Q2 2025, primarily attributed to non-cash charges related to the company’s initial public offering in June 2025, including stock-based compensation and changes in convertible debt value. The IPO raised $1.2 billion and marked Circle’s debut as a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker CRCL [2].

Circle’s CEO, Jeremy Allaire, emphasized the increasing adoption of USDC and the company’s strategic partnerships with major players such as Binance, FIS, and OKX, signaling growing institutional confidence in stablecoins as a bridge between traditional financial systems and the digital economy [3].

A major milestone in the quarter was the announcement of Arc, a new open Layer-1 blockchain designed specifically for stablecoin finance, payments, and capital markets. Arc is compatible with Ethereum’s Virtual Machine (EVM), enabling developers to build and deploy applications with existing tooling. The blockchain will use USDC as its native gas token, allowing users to pay transaction fees in the stablecoin, and features sub-second settlement finality and opt-in privacy controls [4].

Circle plans to fully integrate Arc with its existing platform while maintaining interoperability with multiple other blockchains. The public testnet for Arc is scheduled to launch in fall 2025, with a full mainnet rollout planned for 2026. The company has also open-sourced the core software and will use a new consensus mechanism, Malachite, developed by Informal Systems, which Circle recently acquired [5].

Arc is positioned to address key enterprise concerns such as cost predictability and regulatory compliance. It is expected to support up to 3,000 transactions per second with 20 validators or 10,000 transactions per second with four validators, and includes a built-in foreign exchange engine to facilitate institutional trading [6].

The launch of Arc reflects a broader trend of companies developing custom blockchain infrastructure to meet the needs of institutional users. The move is also supported by regulatory developments, such as the 2025 GENIUS Act, which have helped to create a more favorable environment for stablecoin-based financial services [7].

Despite the potential, some critics have raised concerns about Arc’s focus on USDC as the native token, suggesting it may limit the diversity of digital assets and DeFi applications typically found on more generalized blockchains. There are also questions about whether centralizing validator incentives through USDC could affect the chain’s decentralization [8].

Nevertheless, Circle remains optimistic about Arc’s potential to drive mainstream adoption of digital dollars. The company believes the blockchain will attract traditional financial institutions by offering predictable costs, regulatory compliance, and enhanced privacy features not currently available on existing blockchains. If successful, Arc could significantly expand the volume of USDC transactions, which already process trillions of dollars annually [9].

Source:

[1] https://www.ccn.com/news/crypto/circle-to-launch-in-house-layer-1-blockchain-arc-as-q2-earnings-reveal-90-usdc-growth/

[2] https://bravenewcoin.com/insights/circle-unveils-arc-dedicated-blockchain-for-stablecoin-finance

[3] https://blockonomi.com/arc-blockchain-launch-plans-drop-as-circle-posts-strong-q2-gains/

[4] https://www.altcoinbuzz.io/cryptocurrency-news/circle-posts-strong-q2-growth-unveils-new-blockchain-arc/

[5] https://www.emarketer.com/content/circle-posts-strong-maiden-earnings-report

[6] https://www.xt.com/en/blog/post/circle-unveils-arc-blockchain-as-usdc-circulation-surges-past-65-billion