Circle Acquires Tazapay and Binance Invests $100 Million in Circle

USDC averaged $73.3 billion in circulation in the third quarter, up 8% from a year earlier, and moved $13.9 trillion on-chain (+49%). Total revenue came to $865 million (+17%) and adjusted EBITDA to $317 million (+85%). Reserve income fell 8% to $658 million due to lower interest rates. Within other revenue, $182 million came from the ARC token presale.

Circle signed an agreement to buy Tazapay, a Singapore-based cross-border payments platform with more than $25 billion in annual volume; 60% of that volume already involves stablecoins, and the deal is expected to close in 2027.

Binance announced a $100 million equity investment in Circle and renewed its partnership. In Argentina, Circle is partnering with Allaria to boost USDC liquidity. Jeremy Allaire says he is building infrastructure “for a world in which people, businesses and AI agents operate on-chain.”

Financial Highlights (Third Quarter 2026 vs. Third Quarter 2025)

• Average USDC in circulation of $73.3 billion increased 8% year over year; USDC on-chain transaction volume in Q3 2026 of $13.9 trillion grew 49% year over year.
• Total revenue and reserve income in Q3 2026 of $865 million grew 17% year over year.
• Net income from continuing operations in Q3 2026 of $226 million increased 5% year over year.
• Adjusted EBITDA in Q3 2026 of $317 million grew 85% year over year.

Business Highlights

Payments infrastructure expansion: CPN reached $41.3 billion in annualized total transaction volume this quarter, and Circle signed a definitive agreement to acquire Tazapay, a Singapore-based B2B cross-border payments platform, to further expand our platform. The transaction is expected to close in 2027, subject to regulatory approvals.

• Tazapay brings more than $25 billion in annualized payment volume, more than 60 banking and fintech partners, and local payment rails spanning more than 100 markets. Approximately 60% of Tazapay’s transaction volume already involves stablecoins.
• This acquisition strengthens Circle’s ability to originate and settle payments in Asia-Pacific, Latin America and emerging markets, where demand for USDC-denominated transactions is growing.

Arc mainnet launch: Circle launched Arc’s public mainnet on September 16, the most significant product launch in Circle’s history since USDC, with more than 100 ecosystem institutions and developers from day one, native USDC integration and a founding group of validators drawn from the institutions that run global finance. The mainnet marks the start of a roadmap focused on proof of stake, privacy and scalability.

• ARC token: Circle completed the initial issuance of ARC, with a total initial supply of 10 billion tokens, becoming the first publicly traded company to issue a network token for a new layer-1 blockchain. ARC is designed to serve as the native coordination mechanism for security, utility and governance on Arc as the network moves toward its transition to Proof of Stake in 2027.
• Developer community: Arc’s global developer community includes more than 75,000 Arc House members and 10,000 Architect ambassadors who built more than 1,200 projects on Arc during the private mainnet.

Binance announced a $100 million equity investment in Circle Internet Group, Inc., as well as the expansion and renewal of its strategic partnership to promote USDC across Binance’s global platform, with a particular focus on emerging markets.

Chelsea Football Club (FC) principal partnership: Circle became the principal partner of Chelsea FC, with the Circle and USDC brands appearing on the front of the men’s, women’s and academy team shirts starting with the 2026/27 season. This partnership puts USDC in front of hundreds of millions of football fans worldwide and strengthens the brand’s global positioning.

Allaria and Circle announced a partnership to expand liquidity and institutional access to USDC in Argentina, building on Circle’s growing institutional presence in the country and strengthening local USDC liquidity and utility.

Tereina , an SAP-backed company, and Circle partnered to integrate USDC and EURC into Tereina’s payments infrastructure and enterprise workflows, starting with the SAP ecosystem that supports 84% of global commerce.

Samsung Wallet now allows eligible Galaxy users in the U.S. to send money using USDC to eligible bank accounts in more than 60 countries, with funds delivered in the recipient’s local currency.

Visa moved from pilot to commercial deployment of its Visa Direct stablecoin prefunding, through a collaboration with Inyo Global, allowing eligible clients to fund cross-border payouts using USDC in near real time across more than 180 countries.

Volante Technologies and Circle collaborated to help financial institutions integrate stablecoin payment and settlement capabilities into their existing payment operations.

“In the third quarter, we saw continued evidence that institutions are building on and expanding USDC. Tereina is bringing USDC and EURC to the SAP ecosystem, Visa took stablecoin prefunding to commercial deployment, and Binance renewed and expanded our partnership,” said Jeremy Allaire, co-founder, CEO and Chairman of Circle . “We also launched Arc on public mainnet with more than 100 ecosystem institutions and developers, giving them the infrastructure to build the next generation of financial applications. Together, we are building the financial and economic infrastructure for the internet and upgrading the system for a world where people, businesses and AI agents transact on-chain.”

Key Financial Results and Operating Metrics 

The following table presents our key financial results and operating metrics, as well as the relevant GAAP measures, for the periods indicated:

Third Quarter 2026 Financial Highlights and Operating Results

• Reserve income, which totaled $658 million, decreased 8% year over year, primarily due to a 61 basis point decline in the reserve return rate, partially offset by 8% growth in average USDC in circulation .
• Other revenue, which totaled $207 million, increased 627% year over year driven by the ARC token presale ($182 million), partially offset by lower subscription and services revenue.
• Total expenses, which totaled $412 million, decreased 8% year over year, primarily due to lower distribution payments .
• Operating expenses, which totaled $245 million, increased 16% year over year, primarily due to higher general and administrative, depreciation and amortization, IT infrastructure and marketing expenses, partially offset by lower stock-based compensation expense.
• Adjusted operating expenses of $139 million increased 13% year over year, primarily due to higher general and administrative, IT infrastructure and marketing expenses .
• Net income of $226 million increased 5% year over year, primarily due to higher operating income, partially offset by lower other income .
• Adjusted EBITDA of $317 million increased 85% year over year, reflecting the ARC token.
• Presale revenue and lower distribution costs are partially offset by higher investment in
• costs related to new products.

Other Platform Metrics

Guidance

To help investors better understand our business and our expectations, management provides information on the following key performance indicators.

Conference Call and Livestream Information

The financial results and business highlights will be discussed during a live webcast at 8:00 a.m. (U.S. Eastern Time), via Circle’s official channels on YouTube and X. An audio-only version of the livestream and all related materials will be available on Circle’s Investor Relations website at https://investor.circle.com, where the recording and transcript will also be accessible shortly after the results are released.

In addition to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Circle uses its Investor Relations website ( https://investor.circle.com ), its blog ( https://www.circle.com/blog ), press releases ( https://www.circle.com/pressroom ), public conference calls and webcasts, its X account ( https://x.com/circle ), its YouTube channel ( https://www.youtube.com/@BuildOnCircle ) and its LinkedIn page ( https://www.linkedin.com/company/circle-internet-financial ) to disclose material non-public information, announce upcoming investor conferences and comply with its disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. Investors should therefore monitor these sites in addition to following Circle’s SEC filings. 

Forward-Looking Statements 

This communication contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. These statements include, among others, statements regarding our future results of operations and financial position; our plans regarding anticipated future expenses and investments; expectations relating to certain key financial and operating metrics; our business strategy and plans; expectations relating to legal and regulatory proceedings; expectations relating to our industry, the regulatory environment, market conditions, trends and growth; expectations relating to customer behavior and preferences; our market position; potential market opportunities; and our objectives for future operations. The words “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “potential,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “could,” “would,” “project,” “plan,” “target” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on management’s expectations, assumptions and projections, based on information available at the time such statements are made. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including, but not limited to: intense and increasing competition from new and existing issuers offering competing products, combined with the rise of yield-generating digital assets, including TMMFs, that are attractive to participants in digital asset trading, may reduce market demand for and circulation of Circle’s stablecoins; stablecoins may face periods of uncertainty, loss of confidence or systemic shocks resulting in the potential for rapid redemption requests (or runs), and extreme scenarios, such as market shocks affecting the value of USDC reserves or simultaneous requests to redeem all or substantially all outstanding USDC, or concerns relating to Circle’s stablecoin reserves, may lead to redemption delays and to USDC reserves being insufficient to satisfy all redemption requests; as a relatively new innovation, stablecoins are particularly susceptible to operational challenges and risks, including due to sudden surges in demand; any negative publicity regarding stablecoins or the digital asset industry in general may have a disproportionately negative effect on consumer confidence; Acceptance of Circle’s stablecoins could be adversely affected by disruptions in the secondary markets that facilitate the buying and selling of Circle’s stablecoins; the GENIUS Act will change the payment stablecoin ecosystem and may affect our business in ways that cannot yet be known; the GENIUS Act amends U.S. federal securities laws to explicitly exclude from the definition of “security” payment stablecoins issued by PPSIs, which will include USDC; however, until those amendments take effect,We will continue to rely on our conclusion that USDC is not a security under U.S. federal securities laws; we hold a substantial amount of USDC reserves in the Circle Reserve Fund and are therefore subject to risks associated with the issuer, administrator and custodian of the Circle Reserve Fund; any significant disruption in our technology or that of our third-party service providers or partners could result in the loss of customers or funds and adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects; our customers’ funds and digital assets may not be adequately protected by us or by the third-party service providers on which we rely; our inability to maintain existing relationships with financial institutions and similar businesses or to establish new such relationships could affect our ability to offer services to customers; we are subject to credit risks with respect to counterparties, including banks and other financial institutions; if we are unable to maintain existing distribution arrangements or establish additional distribution arrangements on less favorable financial terms, USDC and EURC in circulation and Circle’s financial results could be adversely affected; Arc and the ARC token involve execution, market and operational risks, including risks relating to the timing of launch, ecosystem adoption in a competitive blockchain market, technology and cybersecurity vulnerabilities, validator and governance dynamics, token price volatility and the operational complexity of managing the network and related treasury infrastructure; Arc and the ARC token present legal, regulatory and structural risks, including uncertainty under securities and other financial regulatory regimes, risks arising from token presale and distribution arrangements, potential liability tied to third-party ecosystem participants, conflicts and governance issues during any transition to decentralization and potential refund obligations if key launch milestones are not met; our products and services may be exploited by our customers, employees, service providers and other third parties to facilitate illegal activities such as fraud, money laundering, terrorist financing, gambling, tax evasion and scams; our compliance and risk management methods may not be effective; fluctuations in interest rates could affect our results of operations; we are subject to an extensive and constantly evolving regulatory landscape; The regulatory environment to which we are subject gives rise to various licensing requirements, significant compliance costs and other restrictions, and non-compliance could result in a range of penalties, including fines, compliance costs, operational restrictions, reputational damage and loss of licenses; we are subject to laws, regulations and executive orders regarding economic and trade sanctions, anti-bribery, AML,and counter-terrorist financing that could impair our ability to compete in international markets or expose us to criminal or civil liability if we violate them; our officers will continue to have substantial control over Circle and will limit shareholders’ ability to influence the outcome of key transactions, including a change of control; and our development and use of artificial intelligence in our business could result in reputational harm, competitive harm and legal liability. It is not possible for our management to predict all risks, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements we may make. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, our actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. For a detailed discussion of the risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those anticipated or expressed in any forward-looking statement, please refer to the section titled “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025, filed with the SEC on March 9, 2026, as well as in other documents we may file with the SEC from time to time. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements or to update the reasons if actual results differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Nothing contained in this communication constitutes an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, or an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity.2026, as well as in other documents we may file with the SEC from time to time. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements or to update the reasons if actual results differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Nothing contained in this communication constitutes an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, or an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity.2026, as well as in other documents we may file with the SEC from time to time. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements or to update the reasons if actual results differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Nothing contained in this communication constitutes an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, or an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity. 

About Circle Internet Group, Inc.

Circle (NYSE: CRCL) is a global financial technology company that enables businesses of all sizes to harness the power of digital currencies and public blockchains for payments, commerce and financial applications worldwide. Circle is building the world’s largest and most widely used stablecoin network and, through its regulated affiliates, issues the USDC and EURC stablecoins. Circle offers a comprehensive suite of financial and technology services that enable businesses and developers to integrate stablecoins and blockchains into their products, services and business operations