Circle pegs every USDC to a dollar sitting in super-safe, short-term instruments—think U.S. Treasury bills, overnight repos, and government money-market funds. Those reserves don’t just nap; they earn interest, and that yield is basically Circle’s cash cow. In 2024, nearly 99 % of Circle’s revenue—around $1.6 billion—came from interest on USDC reserves.

Of course, Circle shares a slice of that yield with partners (like Coinbase), but the rest lands in its pocket. On top of reserve interest, Circle offers a suite of paid services—APIs for integrating USDC payments, treasury-management tools for businesses, subscription fees, and transaction commissions—which add another revenue layer.

And here’s the kicker: the more USDC in circulation (it topped about $60 billion in early 2025), the bigger Circle’s “float” to invest, so interest income scales up naturally. By sticking to low-risk, highly liquid assets, Circle keeps USDC stable for users while quietly racking up solid returns. $USDC