By TANAY VEN

Compiled by: Vernacular Blockchain

Major U.S. stablecoin issuer Circle has achieved impressive revenue figures of $1.7 billion in 2024, with 99% of this income derived from interest on USDC reserves. In its S-1 filing for a planned IPO, Circle highlights the role of partners such as Coinbase and BN in expanding USDC coverage and the sensitivity of its business model to interest rate changes.

Major U.S. stablecoin issuer Circle has achieved impressive revenue figures of $1.7 billion in 2024, with 99% of this income derived from interest on USDC reserves. In its S-1 filing for a planned IPO, Circle highlights the role of partners such as Coinbase and BN in expanding USDC coverage and the sensitivity of its business model to interest rate changes.

Key Takeaways:

1. Circle's IPO filing provides a glimpse into the financials and strategic outlook of a fundamental cryptocurrency company. The only way for public markets to directly invest in the fastest-growing sector of cryptocurrency.

2. Circle's IPO filing provides a glimpse into the financials and strategic outlook of a fundamental cryptocurrency company. The only way for public markets to directly invest in the fastest-growing sector of cryptocurrency.

3. Despite a decline in net profit and adjusted EBITDA, the filing showcases the recovery of USDC supply, which increased 80% to $44 billion for the full year.

4. USDC's on-chain data from Glassnode reveals a 30-day average transfer volume of approximately $40 billion and the varying stages of adoption across chains.

5. As interest rates fall, Circle aims to diversify its revenue through active product lines such as Circle Mint and by expanding its tokenized asset infrastructure through the acquisition of Hashnote, the largest issuer of tokenized money market funds.

Introduction

Circle, the largest U.S. stablecoin issuer and the company behind the $60 billion USDC, recently filed for an IPO. This move provides valuable insight into the financials and strategic outlook of this fundamental cryptocurrency company. The IPO comes at a critical time, considering the approaching legislation for stablecoins and the increasing competition in the industry.

Circle, the largest U.S. stablecoin issuer and the company behind the $60 billion USDC, recently filed for an IPO. This move provides valuable insight into the financials and strategic outlook of this fundamental cryptocurrency company. The IPO comes at a critical time, considering the approaching legislation for stablecoins and the increasing competition in the industry.

While market conditions may lead to a delay in the IPO and the company will not disclose the number of shares or the planned valuation, this analysis will focus on the key takeaways from Circle's IPO filing. It will also examine USDC's on-chain data to evaluate the recovery of market confidence, the role of platforms such as Coinbase and BN in driving USDC adoption, and the sensitivity of USDC to interest rate changes.

While market conditions may lead to a delay in the IPO and the company will not disclose the number of shares or the planned valuation, this analysis will focus on the key takeaways from Circle's IPO filing. It will also examine USDC's on-chain data to evaluate the recovery of market confidence, the role of platforms such as Coinbase and BN in driving USDC adoption, and the sensitivity of USDC to interest rate changes.

Finally, we will discuss Circle's positioning in an increasingly competitive market with new entrants and the implications for the future of stablecoins as a new class of asset.

Circle Financial Overview

From its original Bitcoin payment application to becoming a leading stablecoin issuer and crypto infrastructure provider, Circle has faced many challenges in its 12-year journey. After an explosive period of revenue growth in 2021 (450%) and 2022 (808%), growth slowed in 2023 with revenue increasing by 88% when USDC was affected by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.

At the end of 2024, Circle reported revenue of $1.7 billion, showing a more stable trend with a year-on-year increase of 15%. However, profitability was compressed, with net profit and adjusted EBITDA falling by 42% and 28% to $157 million and $285 million, respectively.

It is worth noting that Circle's financial data shows that revenue is highly concentrated in reserve interest income, and the allocation costs with partners such as Coinbase and BN are as high as about $1.01 billion. But these factors have driven the recovery of USDC supply, which increased 80% to $44 billion for the full year.

USDC’s On-Chain Growth

USDC is the core of Circle's business and was launched in 2018 in partnership with Coinbase. USDC is a tokenized form of the U.S. dollar that allows users to store value in digital form and trade on a blockchain network, enabling near-instant low-cost settlement. USDC uses a full reserve model and is 1:1 backed by highly liquid assets, including short-term U.S. Treasury bonds, overnight repurchase agreements, and cash held by regulated financial institutions.

USDC is the core of Circle's business and was launched in 2018 in partnership with Coinbase. USDC is a tokenized form of the U.S. dollar that allows users to store value in digital form and trade on a blockchain network, enabling near-instant low-cost settlement. USDC uses a full reserve model and is 1:1 backed by highly liquid assets, including short-term U.S. Treasury bonds, overnight repurchase agreements, and cash held by regulated financial institutions.

The total supply of USDC has grown to about $60 billion, firmly ranking second in the stablecoin market after Tether's USDT. Although market share was under pressure in 2023, it has rebounded to 26%, reflecting the recovery of market confidence. Of this, about $40 billion (65%) was issued on Ethereum, $9.5 billion on Solana (15%), $3.75 billion on Base Layer-2 (6%), and the rest on Arbitrum, Optimism, Polygon, Avalanche and other chains.

USDC's speed and transfer volume have also grown significantly, with a 30-day average transfer volume of approximately $40 billion. In 2025, USDC transfers occurred primarily on Base and Ethereum, sometimes accounting for 9