Coinbase Earns More with USDC Than Circle

The recent IPO filing of cryptocurrency firm Circle has revealed that the company makes less money off the USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin than cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase. 

In fact, Circle’s largest expense was $908 million to Coinbase for distribution. 

USDC, the second-largest stablecoin by market capitalization, recorded impressive growth in 2024, with its circulating supply increasing by more than 78%.

Notably, the stablecoin issuer has estimated that it would lose $414 million worth of profits if the Federal Reserve were to cut interest rates by 200 basis points. 

Related

The IPO filing shows that the USDC stablecoin, which was launched by Circle and Coinbase in 2018, has recorded $25 trillion in lifetime on-chain translation volume, with more than $1 trillion worth of tokes been minted and redeemed since inception. There are also a total of 19 blockchains with native blockchain issuance. 

Circle has seen strong year-over-year revenue growth, which has more than doubled from 2022 to 2024 ($772 million to nearly $1.7 billion). 

The company secured a $221.6 million profit last year after posting a whopping $758 million loss in 2022 during a brutal bear market. 

Circle generates revenue with the help of interest on the reserves that back the popular stablecoin. 

Coinbase recently reported its stunning Q4 revenue of $2.3 billion. Transactions fees accounted for the majority of the sum. 

Circle’s IPO filing comes amid stiffening competition within the sector as other players, such as PayPal and Ripple, have launched their own highly regulated stablecoin products.