Circle cut about 5% of its workforce while posting record quarterly revenue

The USDC issuer disclosed the reduction in a footnote to its third-quarter earnings tables, alongside $865 million in total revenue and reserve income. It did not say how many jobs went, or which teams were affected.

Circle Internet Group cut about 5% of its workforce during the third quarter, the stablecoin issuer disclosed in a footnote to its earnings tables on November 4. The company booked $9.1 million in restructuring expenses, mostly cash for notice-period and severance payments, employee benefits and related costs. It did not disclose how many people were affected, which teams were involved, or when exactly the cuts took place.

The stated reason, in the company’s words, was to “better align our organizational structure with our operating model and strategic priorities.” The disclosure was quiet: the reduction appears only in a footnote, not in the earnings release’s business highlights, and chief executive Jeremy Allaire did not mention it in his prepared remarks on the earnings call.

The charge was partly offset by a $5.7 million reversal of stock-based compensation, as departing employees forfeited unvested shares, Decrypt reported, citing a footnote to the release filed with the SEC. Circle left the restructuring charges out of its adjusted EBITDA.

Circle gave no headcount for the cuts. Its annual report put the workforce at approximately 1,100 worldwide at the end of 2025, which would imply roughly 55 roles — an arithmetic estimate, not a company figure, and one Unchained also calculated. This article therefore reports the percentage only, except where an estimate is explicitly labelled as such.

The quarter itself was strong on the headline numbers. Total revenue and reserve income reached $865 million, up 17% year over year; net income from continuing operations was $226 million, up 5%; and adjusted EBITDA was $317 million, up 85%. Adjusted earnings of $0.84 a share beat the roughly $0.37 consensus, CoinDesk reported. But the headline was lifted by $182 million of revenue recognised from the presale of ARC, the native token of Circle’s new Arc blockchain; reserve income, the earnings on the assets backing USDC, fell 8% to $658 million as the reserve return rate declined 61 basis points to 3.5%. Other revenue of $207 million rose 627% year over year, almost entirely on the presale.

USDC averaged $73.3 billion in circulation during the quarter, up 8% year over year, and ended it at $73.9 billion, flat with a year earlier, while onchain transaction volume grew 49% to $13.9 trillion and Circle’s stablecoin market share fell to 27%. Arc opened its public mainnet on September 16. Circle also agreed to acquire Singapore payments firm Tazapay for about $400 million in stock, expected to close in 2027, and Binance announced a $100 million equity investment alongside a renewed five-year USDC agreement. Circle maintained its full-year 2026 guidance, including $310 million to $330 million in other revenue and $570 million to $585 million in adjusted operating expenses.

This is not Circle’s first reduction. It cut jobs in July 2023 as it pulled back from non-core activities, and in December 2024 it confirmed a cut of less than 6% of roles that Bloomberg first reported, Unchained noted.

What is still unknown: the exact number of people affected, which teams and countries were involved, how much of the reduction falls in the United States, and whether it will produce any WARN filing. A check of this site’s WARN data found no filings under the Circle Internet Group name.