The company behind USDC: how a stablecoin issuer earns, and why interest rates decide its profits.
Circle was founded in 2013 and issues USDC, the second-largest stablecoin. Every USDC is meant to be backed one-for-one by dollars and short-term US Treasuries.
The revenue model follows directly: Circle holds those reserves and keeps the interest they earn. It does not charge you to hold USDC — it earns on the float. That makes it, in effect, a business whose profit is set by US interest rates. When rates are high the business is very profitable; when they fall, revenue falls with them regardless of how much USDC is in circulation.
USDC supply, since revenue scales with it; interest rates, which set the margin; and regulation, where Circle has positioned itself as the compliant, audited alternative to Tether — an advantage only as long as regulators actually enforce the distinction.
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