Circle, issuer of the world’s second-largest stablecoin, USDC, posted estimate-beating first-quarter earnings as revenue rose 20% and it raised $222 million for its Arc blockchain network in a presale of the ARC token.
Earnings per share (EPS) of 21 cents beat analyst estimates of 17 cents, while revenue rose 20% to a less-than-forecast $694 million. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) grew 24% from a year earlier to $151 million, the New York-based company reported.
USDC onchain transaction volume jumped over 260% from the year-earlier quarter to $21.5 trillion, and USDC in circulation increased 28% to $77 billion.
The ARC token presale values the project at $3 billion. The fundraising round included investment from a mix of Wall Street heavyweights and crypto-native firms, including BlackRock, Apollo Funds, a16z crypto, ARK Invest, CoinDesk’s parent company Bullish, Haun Ventures, Intercontinental Exchange and Standard Chartered Ventures.
The fundraising marks Circle’s most ambitious expansion beyond USDC and payments infrastructure, pushing the stablecoin issuer deeper into the race to build blockchain infrastructure for institutional finance.
Circle also published the Arc whitepaper on Monday, outlining ARC as a “native coordination asset” designed to support governance, validator security and network operations across the chain.
Arc, which began testing in October, is being positioned as a blockchain optimized for stablecoin-based capital markets and regulated financial activity, which includes tokenized assets, cross-border settlement and onchain finance.
Unlike USDC, which functions as a dollar-pegged payment token, ARC appears intended to play a role closer to ether (ETH) on Ethereum or SOL on Solana — helping coordinate the network’s economic and security model.
CRCL shares were nearly 1.2% higher at $115 in pre-market trading at around 7:30 a.m. ET.
UPDATE (May 11, 11:20 UTC): Adds Circle’s first-quarter earnings report information and restructures article to lead with earnings.
