Stablecoins can become the cash leg of the tokenized economy.
Circle submitted comments on the SEC’s proposed Regulation Crypto Assets, supporting technology-neutral rules for onchain capital formation, GENIUS-compliant payment stablecoins for consideration and settlement, and cash treatment for qualifying stablecoins.
https://t.co/Qj7Cy3i78k
4.7/ 5
Our score
Excellent
Tickers
USDCEURC
Pegged to
US dollar
Backing
Cash & treasuries
Supply / market cap
$72.9B as of October 2026
Reserve reports
Monthly reserve attestations by Deloitte & Touche, with daily CUSIP-level reporting of the Circle Reserve Fund via BlackRock.
Regulated issuer
Yes
What is Circle?
Circle is a regulated digital asset and payments company best known as the sole issuer of USD Coin (USDC), a fully collateralized dollar stablecoin with a circulating supply of $72.9B as of October 2026, alongside EURC, a MiCA-compliant euro token. Its stablecoin infrastructure connects blockchain settlement with traditional banking rails across more than 20 networks.
Founders and corporate structure
Jeremy Allaire and Sean Neville co-founded Circle in October 2013. Allaire serves as Chief Executive Officer, while Neville served as co-CEO until stepping down from operational leadership in late 2019 to join the board of directors. Circle is headquartered in New York City and trades publicly on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker CRCL following an initial public offering in June 2025.
Reserve backing and network mechanics
USDC and EURC maintain 1:1 backing with reserve assets. The majority of USDC reserves sit in the BlackRock-managed Circle Reserve Fund, a government money market fund registered under SEC Rule 2a-7 and held in custody at BNY Mellon. CUSIP-level holdings are published daily. Onchain, USDC functions natively across chains including Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche, Base, and Stellar. Circle operates the Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP), a native burn-and-mint facility that moves USDC between supported blockchains without third-party wrapped assets.
Fees and platform availability
Institutional clients mint and redeem USDC or EURC at a 1:1 par value through Circle Mint with a 0% issuance and redemption fee, subject to commercial Know Your Business (KYB) checks. Retail users acquire and trade Circle stablecoins through third-party exchanges and DeFi platforms without direct accounts at Circle. Circle Mint supports direct fiat redemption for institutional customers.
Regulatory framework and security record
Circle holds money transmitter licenses across 46 US states, a New York Department of Financial Services BitLicense, an Electronic Money Institution license from the ACPR in France under MiCA, and a Major Payment Institution license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Deloitte & Touche conducts monthly point-in-time reserve attestations. Circle faced reserve stress in March 2023, when USDC dropped to $0.87 after the firm disclosed $3.3 billion stranded at the collapsed Silicon Valley Bank. USDC repegged within 72 hours as reserves were shifted to BNY Mellon.
Risks and operational limitations
Circle maintains smart-contract address-blacklisting controls on public networks and can freeze assets at specific addresses. Holders remain exposed to custodial counterparty risk across Circle's commercial banking partners, as shown by the 2023 SVB failure. Unverified users cannot redeem tokens directly for fiat through the issuer and rely on secondary market liquidity.
Founders
Jeremy AllaireCo-Founder & CEO
Sean NevilleCo-Founder & President of Product & Operations
Best for:Institutional cross-border payment settlementDeFi liquidity providers and tradersEuropean entities needing MiCA complianceFintech developers building multi-chain apps
Pros and cons
Pros
- Reserves backed 1:1 by cash and short-dated Treasuries with daily CUSIP reporting
- Monthly reserve attestations published by Deloitte & Touche
- Direct institutional minting and redemption at 1:1 with zero fees via Circle Mint
- Holds regulatory licenses in the US, EU, UK, and Singapore
Cons
- Circle has onchain blacklist capabilities to freeze tokens on public addresses
- Direct fiat redemption requires corporate KYB onboarding through Circle Mint
- Depegged to $0.87 during the March 2023 Silicon Valley Bank failure
- Reserves carry counterparty exposure to partner banks holding cash deposits
Our review
4.7/5
Excellent
Circle provides regulated dollar and euro stablecoins backed by cash and Treasuries, though direct redemption is restricted to verified institutions and contracts permit address blacklisting.
Circle is the regulated issuer of USD Coin (USDC) and EURC. Originally launched in September 2018 under the Centre Consortium alongside Coinbase, Circle took sole operational ownership of USDC in August 2023. As of October 2026, USDC has a circulating supply of roughly $72.9B, maintaining full 1:1 backing with cash and short-duration US Treasuries held primarily in the BlackRock-managed Circle Reserve Fund at BNY Mellon. Circle publishes daily CUSIP-level breakdowns of fund assets alongside monthly reserve attestations performed by Deloitte & Touche.
In July 2024, Circle Mint Europe SAS secured an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license from the ACPR in France. This authorization brings USDC and EURC into compliance with the European Union Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR). In the United States, Circle holds a New York BitLicense, FinCEN Money Services Business registration, and state-level money transmitter licenses, alongside a Class F license in Bermuda and an MPI license in Singapore.
The architecture carries structural trade-offs:
- USDC contracts retain an administrative freeze function. Through this mechanism, Circle can blacklist addresses and freeze USDC balances.
- Direct fiat minting and redemption at a 0% fee through Circle Mint requires institutional KYB verification, meaning retail holders must rely on secondary exchanges and liquidity pools to exit to fiat.
- Reserves face traditional banking-partner risks, as demonstrated in March 2023 when USDC slipped to $0.87 after Circle disclosed $3.3 billion locked at the collapsed Silicon Valley Bank before repegging within 72 hours.
Specs
| Tickers | USDC, EURC · unverified |
|---|---|
| Pegged to | US dollar · unverified |
| Backing | Cash & treasuries · unverified |
| Yield-bearing | No · unverified |
| Regulated issuer | Yes · unverified |
| Licenses & charters | US BitLicense (NYDFS), US FinCEN MSB, France EMI (ACPR / MiCA), UK EMI (FCA), Singapore MPI (MAS), ADGM FSRA FSP, Bermuda Class F · unverified |
| Supply / market cap | $72.9B as of October 2026 · unverified |
| Chains | Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche, Base, Stellar · unverified |
| Reserve reports | Monthly reserve attestations by Deloitte & Touche, with daily CUSIP-level reporting of the Circle Reserve Fund via BlackRock. · unverified |
| Redemption terms | 1:1 par redemption with 0% fees via Circle Mint for verified institutional accounts; retail redemptions via secondary exchanges. · unverified |
| Issuer can freeze tokens | Yes · unverified |
Data from the provider's website and public sources. Fees and availability change; confirm on the official site before you sign up.
Key features
Full reserve backing
Every USDC is backed 1:1 by cash and short-dated US Treasuries held primarily in the BlackRock-managed Circle Reserve Fund at BNY Mellon.
Cross-chain transfer protocol
CCTP facilitates native cross-chain transfers by burning USDC on the source chain and minting it natively on the destination chain.
Independent monthly attestations
Deloitte & Touche conducts monthly point-in-time reviews confirming reserve assets equal or exceed tokens in circulation.
Circle Mint portal
Verified institutional customers can mint and redeem USDC and EURC directly at par for a 0% fee.
Multi-chain native issuance
USDC and EURC deploy natively across major networks including Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche, Base, and Stellar.
MiCA regulatory compliance
EURC operates as a compliant E-Money Token across the European Union under an ACPR EMI license.
Inside Circle
USDC
A regulated US dollar stablecoin backed 1:1 by cash and short-dated US Treasuries held in custody at institutional banks.
EURC
A MiCAR-compliant euro-denominated stablecoin issued under an Electronic Money Institution license from the ACPR in France.
USYC
An institutional tokenized money market fund designed with near-instant redeemability into USDC.
cirBTC
An institutional-grade wrapped Bitcoin asset backed 1:1 with verifiable BTC reserves for use in smart contracts.
Mint
An institutional liquidity venue enabling verified entities to mint, redeem, and manage USDC, EURC, and cirBTC against fiat.
Circle Payments Network
Payment infrastructure that lets global businesses and financial institutions move and settle funds internationally via stablecoins.
CCTP
Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol is a permissionless smart contract utility that teleports native USDC between blockchains by burning on the source chain and minting on the destination chain.
Arc
An open Layer-1 blockchain built to provide foundational economic settlement for programmable applications and internet finance.
Circle screenshots
What users say about Circle
There are no substantial user reviews or feedback concerning Circle. Mentions consist almost entirely of unrelated topics or general announcements without user sentiment.
Based on 19 Reddit posts and comments from the last 12 months, checked Oct 23, 2026. These are posts by users on other sites, not reviews submitted on CryptoReview.
User reviews
No user reviews yet. Have you used Circle? Share your experience below.
FAQ
Who founded Circle?
Jeremy Allaire and Sean Neville founded Circle in October 2013. Allaire serves as Chief Executive Officer.
What backs Circle's stablecoins?
USDC is backed 1:1 by cash and short-dated US Treasuries held primarily in the BlackRock-managed Circle Reserve Fund at BNY Mellon. Circle publishes monthly reserve attestations completed by Deloitte & Touche along with daily CUSIP-level Treasury holdings.
What fees does Circle charge for minting and redemptions?
Direct minting and par redemption of USDC and EURC through Circle Mint carries a 0% fee. Retail users transacting through third-party exchanges or decentralized venues pay standard platform trading fees and blockchain network gas.
Can Circle freeze USDC addresses?
Yes, Circle's smart contracts incorporate blacklisting functionality that can freeze USDC balances at specific wallet addresses. Circle exercises this capability to comply with sanctions, regulatory mandates, and law-enforcement orders.
Has USDC ever depegged from the dollar?
USDC experienced a temporary depeg to $0.87 on March 10, 2023, after Circle disclosed that $3.3 billion in reserve cash was held at the failed Silicon Valley Bank. The token restored its $1.00 parity within 72 hours once deposits were secured and operations transferred to BNY Mellon.
On which blockchains is Circle's stablecoin issued natively?
Circle issues USDC and EURC natively across major networks including Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche, Base, and Stellar, connecting liquidity through its Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP).
Latest from Circle on X
Meet Circle at Devcon 8, November 5–6.
Ethereum is where USDC got its start.
Stop by our booth to meet the team and try Arc Studio.
Describe your app, generate smart contracts and tests, then review and export the code.
https://t.co/rcsxpzhOPE https://t.co/fuUD3K14ZM
Ethereum is where USDC got its start.
Stop by our booth to meet the team and try Arc Studio.
Describe your app, generate smart contracts and tests, then review and export the code.
https://t.co/rcsxpzhOPE https://t.co/fuUD3K14ZM
Stablecoins are moving deeper into the products customers already use.
Kraken partnered with Circle to expand USDC and EURC utility across funding, trading, wallet infrastructure, and onchain access.
The results:
→ 30% USDC AUC growth on Kraken since its September 2025 partnership with Circle
→ Nearly 1B EURC traded on Kraken since listing
→ 350M USDC deposited to Kraken’s DeFi Earn vaults post launch
For Kraken, building with USDC and EURC helped reduce fragmentation across core platform flows and give customers more direct access to dollar- and euro-denominated stablecoin utility.
https://t.co/Qxaxgtoz6S
Kraken partnered with Circle to expand USDC and EURC utility across funding, trading, wallet infrastructure, and onchain access.
The results:
→ 30% USDC AUC growth on Kraken since its September 2025 partnership with Circle
→ Nearly 1B EURC traded on Kraken since listing
→ 350M USDC deposited to Kraken’s DeFi Earn vaults post launch
For Kraken, building with USDC and EURC helped reduce fragmentation across core platform flows and give customers more direct access to dollar- and euro-denominated stablecoin utility.
https://t.co/Qxaxgtoz6S
Verified Circle stockholders can now submit questions for our upcoming earnings call through Say.
Questions can be submitted and upvoted until Tuesday, Nov 3, 2026 at 9 am ET.
A selection of questions will be addressed by management during the call.
Submit here: https://t.co/LAGjEFE044
Questions can be submitted and upvoted until Tuesday, Nov 3, 2026 at 9 am ET.
A selection of questions will be addressed by management during the call.
Submit here: https://t.co/LAGjEFE044
Circle 🤝 @ACI_Worldwide
Financial institutions are increasingly looking at how stablecoins can fit within the payment systems they already use.
A new proof of concept in Colombia will explore how USDC settlement can operate alongside existing payment infrastructure and workflows.
https://t.co/yb8hLnOWnD
Financial institutions are increasingly looking at how stablecoins can fit within the payment systems they already use.
A new proof of concept in Colombia will explore how USDC settlement can operate alongside existing payment infrastructure and workflows.
https://t.co/yb8hLnOWnD
Recent public posts from @circle, shown as published. Not reviewed or endorsed by CryptoReview.
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