Circle Defends USDC Business Model as Rivals Offer Partners a Bigger Share

Circle is defending its business model as Coinbase, its largest distribution partner, backs a rival network built to give businesses more income from stablecoin reserves. In a blog post on Friday, Chief Commercial Officer Kash Razzaghi said Circle kept about 7 cents in net profit per dollar of revenue in the first half of 2026.

The company brought in about $1.4 billion, and distribution and transaction costs took $819 million of that. The remaining $473 million covered compliance, liquidity and product development, including about $214 million in stock-based compensation and related costs. Razzaghi argued that the costs of redemption, compliance and resilience do not disappear just because an issuer declines to pay them.

Open USD and Rival Stablecoin Networks

Coinbase also backs Open USD alongside Stripe and BlackRock. Unveiled in June, the network aims to let businesses mint and redeem stablecoins without fees while passing reserve income, minus a management fee, to participants. Its OUSD token is now live. Circle’s post did not name Open USD, and other rivals such as the Paxos-led Global Dollar Network (USDG) also share reserve income with participants.

Circle Distribution Deals and USDC Redemptions

Circle is still adding distribution partners. In September, Binance bought a $100 million stake under a five-year deal that includes a fee tied to USDC held through Circle’s wallet service. The company said standard USDC redemptions stay free and typically settle in up to two business days, while qualifying platform customers and Circle Payments Network flows can get near-real-time redemptions at no cost.