According to Circle, in the third quarter of 2026, USDC accounted for 79% of the total trading volume of stablecoins.
According to Jeremy Allaire, the CEO of Circle, the market share of USDC in the total trading volume of stablecoins has significantly increased compared to 66% in the same period last year. The overall trading volume on the chain reached 13.9 trillion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 49%.
This indicates that, despite the fierce competition in the stablecoin sector, the adoption of USDC in payments, transactions, and blockchain-based financial applications is still growing rapidly.
Circle indicates that USDC set new records for issuance and redemption volumes in the third quarter. In the third quarter, the total amount of USDC issued and redeemed amounted to 208 billion US dollars, averaging 2.3 billion US dollars per day. Circle states that the average circulating volume of USDC in the third quarter was 73.3 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 18%. This information comes from the highlights data of Circle for the third quarter.
In addition to USDC itself, Circle also emphasizes growth in other aspects of its infrastructure. Circle indicates that the mainnet of Arc was launched in the third quarter, and more than 100 institutions and applications are already developing on Arc. According to Circle, as of October 30, 2026, the total assets on Arc amounted to 1.5 billion US dollars.
Circle Payment Network ( CPN ) is also a rapidly growing part of its infrastructure. The company stated that, based on the activity of the past 30 days, CPN reached an annualized payment volume of $41.3 billion at the end of the third quarter, which is 15.2 times higher than the same period last year. Allaire mentioned that the payment volume of CPN has now exceeded $58 billion.
Leading settlement assets
Circle also indicates that USDC has now become the leading settlement asset in intelligent/automated internet payments. Allaire reveals that over 99% of intelligent payments on x402 are settled using USDC.
In the third quarter, Circle achieved total revenue and reserve income of $865 million, a year-on-year increase of 17%. According to a picture showcasing the highlights of Circle's third quarter, this figure includes $182 million in token sales revenue from ARC.
Allaire indicates that the strong performance in the third quarter is a clear signal that Circle is ready for the next phase of adoption by stablecoins. He stated that the GENIUS legislation, which is expected to take effect next January, will bring regulated digital dollars into the mainstream. In addition, Circle has now activated all levels of its platform.
These impressive third-quarter figures indicate that Circle has not only further consolidated USDC's leading position in transaction activities but has also continued to expand its ecosystem in areas such as payments, on-chain finance, and institutional adoption.












