Circle, issuer of the world’s second-largest stablecoin USDC, posted first-quarter earnings that topped estimates as revenue rose 20% and raised $222 million for its Arc blockchain network in a pre-sale of the ARC token.
Earnings per share (EPS) of 21 cents beat analyst estimates of 17 cents, while revenue rose 20% to $694 million less than expected. 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 on-chain transaction volume increased more than 260% from the prior-year quarter to $21.5 trillion, and USDC in circulation increased 28% to $77 billion.
The pre-sale of the ARC token values the project at $3 billion. The fundraising round included investments from a mix of Wall Street heavyweights and crypto-native companies, including BlackRock, Apollo Funds, a16z crypto, ARK Invest, CoinDesk 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 into a deeper race to build blockchain infrastructure for institutional finance.
Circle also published the Arc whitepaper on Monday, which describes 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 positioning itself as a blockchain optimized for stablecoin-based capital markets and regulated financial activity, including tokenized assets, cross-border settlement, and on-chain finance.
Unlike USDC, which functions as a dollar-pegged payment token, ARC appears destined to play a role closer to ether (ETH) on Ethereum or SOL on Solana, helping to coordinate the network’s economic and security model.
CRCL shares rose nearly 1.2% to $115 in pre-market trading around 7:30 a.m. ET.
UPDATE (May 11, 11:20 UTC): Adds information from Circle’s first quarter earnings report and restructures the article to lead earnings.
