Circle is behind USDC, one of the world's largest stablecoins. How the company works, and why it matters for onchain finance.
Circle is a US financial technology company behind USDC, the second-largest stablecoin in the world. The company was founded in 2013 by Jeremy Allaire and Sean Neville.
USDC is backed by cash and short-term US government securities, and Circle publishes regular reports on the reserves. A large part of the reserves is managed in a fund at BlackRock.
Circle has built its strategy on regulation. The company holds an e-money licence in the EU, and both USDC and the euro stablecoin EURC meet the requirements of MiCA.
In 2025, Circle listed on the stock exchange in New York. That made it one of the first pure stablecoin companies on the stock market.
Circle earns most of its money from interest on the reserves behind USDC. When interest rates are high and a lot of USDC is in circulation, revenue rises.
That makes the company vulnerable to rate cuts. Circle also shares a large part of its revenue with partners that distribute USDC, among them the crypto exchange Coinbase.
Circle is building infrastructure around USDC, including a payment network for banks and payment companies and a tokenized money market fund. The company has also developed its own blockchain, Arc, designed for institutions.
The goal is for dollars on the blockchain to be used in everything from payments to capital markets.
The biggest competitor is Tether and USDT. Tether is larger, but has been less transparent and stands weaker in Europe.
At the same time, banks and payment companies are launching their own stablecoins. Circle's advantage is that it embraced regulation early and has broad support in traditional finance.