Circle
Circle Internet Group, Inc.
Data verified on last change the sources
Worth it if you're a fintech or an exchange that needs a MiCA-compliant stablecoin: EURC and USDC have monthly-attested reserves and an NYSE-listed issuer.
Avoid it if you're an individual: the services and APIs target fintechs and enterprises, and issuance still depends on a single centralized issuer.
Circle is the fintech that issues the USDC and EURC stablecoins through regulated affiliates and is among the global leaders in the sector: at the end of Q1 2026, USDC in circulation was ~$77 billion (+28% YoY), with ~$21.5 trillion in on-chain volume during the quarter. It provides infrastructure, APIs and network services for payments and blockchain applications aimed at fintechs, exchanges and enterprises. The company is listed on the NYSE (ticker CRCL) following its 5 June 2025 IPO and holds the reserves backing the stablecoins it issues, mostly in the BlackRock-managed Circle Reserve Fund, with monthly attestations.
Data & conditions
| Service type | Stablecoin infrastructure |
|---|---|
| Pricing model | Custom quote |
| Stablecoins | USDC, EURC |
| Custody model | qualified-custody |
| Customer type | Fintech, Enterprise, Developers, Platforms |
| Processed volume | $21.5T |
| Fund custody | Custodial (platform holds funds) |
| Supported countries | US, EEA, UK, APAC, LATAM |
| Regulator | NYDFS (US), ACPR (Francia, MiCA) |
| Segment | B2B |
| Funding / solidity | NYSE-listed (CRCL) since 5/6/2025 (IPO at $31/share). Q1 2026: USDC in circulation ~$77B (+28% YoY), USDC on-chain volume ~$21.5T (+263% YoY), total revenue and reserve income $694M (+20% YoY). EURC ~EUR 386M (May 2026). Reserves mostly in the BlackRock-managed Circle Reserve Fund (USDXX, a 2a-7 money-market fund) plus cash at G-SIB banks; monthly attestations (Deloitte). |
| MiCA / License status | NYDFS (New York)US state Money Transmitter LicensesMiCA EMI (Circle, ACPR France) USDC/EURC issued via regulated affiliates; EURC MiCA-compliant |
Strengths
- Leading USDC/EURC issuer (~$77B USDC in circulation, Q1 2026) with transparent reserves in the Circle Reserve Fund (BlackRock) and monthly attestations.
- NYSE-listed company (CRCL): public-company level of disclosure and scrutiny.
- No notable sovereignty advantage documented.
Weaknesses
- B2B infrastructure: developers integrate it, consumers use USDC indirectly.
- Centralized model: reserves and issuance depend on a single regulated issuer.
- Custodial: the platform holds your funds and can freeze or lose them.
- Subject to regulation (USDC/EURC issued via regulated affiliates; EURC MiCA-compliant): reporting to authorities and freezes on order.
Verdict
Score 4.7/5, outstanding profile. In its favour: leading USDC/EURC issuer (~$77B USDC in circulation, Q1 2026) with transparent reserves in the Circle Reserve Fund (BlackRock) and monthly attestations. The trade-off to weigh: b2B infrastructure: developers integrate it, consumers use USDC indirectly.
On the Sovereignty lens the score is 0.5/5 (weak): the strength is fund control (0.5/5).
Promp's editorial rating based on real fees and net annual cost. Promp reviews third-party products independently.
"Sovereignty" rating: score computed on privacy/anonymity (30%), fund control (20%), censorship resistance (20%), trustless/auditability (20%) and costs (10%). Same data, different weights.
Reputation
What happened to people who used Circle, and what users say. External signals: they do not feed the promp.it rating.
Incidents & regulatory actions
Past incidents, resolvedDocumented and closed events. They stay on file: an operator’s past is data, not a verdict.
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Depeg Severe ✓ resolved
USDC loses its dollar peg after disclosure of 3.3 billion in reserves stuck at Silicon Valley Bank: parity restored within 48 hours, no loss for those who waited for redemption
On 11 March 2023 Circle disclosed that 3.3 billion dollars of the reserves backing USDC — roughly 8% of a total of about 40 billion — sat at Silicon Valley Bank, the Californian bank placed into receivership by regulators the day before. The announcement came with banking markets closed, on a Friday evening: the market makers who normally hold USDC at one dollar could not hedge until the open, and on secondary markets the stablecoin fell to around 0.87-0.88 dollars, the most severe break of parity USDC has ever recorded. On 12 March the US Treasury and prudential regulators announced that all depositors of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank would be made whole; Circle published a note the same day with an explicit title — "3.3 billion of USDC reserve risk removed, dollar de-peg closes" — stating those funds would be "fully available when U.S. banks open tomorrow morning" and that USDC "remains redeemable 1:1 with the U.S. Dollar". Parity was restored in the hours that followed. Those who waited for redemption lost nothing; those who sold over the weekend realised the price difference, but not because of a hole in the reserves: the collateral existed, it was temporarily unreachable. In the same communication Circle disclosed the reserve composition: 77% (32.4 billion) in short-dated US Treasury bills custodied at BNY Mellon with liquidity management by BlackRock, 23% (9.7 billion) in cash held primarily at BNY Mellon. The episode is closed: the reserves were recovered in full, there were no losses for holders who redeemed, and the banking concentration of the reserves has since been restructured.
↗ source
verified on
Public reviews
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Trustpilot ↗
1.2/5
81 reviews
Page confirmed as Circle (USDC/EURC issuer). Very low score; recurring complaints about account lockdowns, frozen funds and unresponsive support. Low review volume (81), consistent with a B2B/infrastructure service with little retail exposure.
Weighted average across 1 public review platform (81 reviews in total), weighted by volume. This is not our rating: it is those platforms’ average.
FAQ
Can an individual use Circle directly?
Indirectly: an individual holds USDC or EURC via exchanges and wallets, but Circle's services and APIs are aimed at fintechs, exchanges and enterprises.
Who backs the value of USDC?
Circle holds reserves (cash and short-term government securities, mostly in the BlackRock-managed Circle Reserve Fund) backing each USDC in circulation, with monthly third-party attestations.
Sources
- Official service page Descrizione Data verified on Jul 17, 2026
- blackrock.com Data verified on Jul 17, 2026
- cnbc.com Data verified on Jul 17, 2026
Update history
- Figures updated to Q1 2026 results: USDC in circulation ~$77B (+28% YoY), on-chain volume ~$21.5T (+263%), reserve income of $694M for the quarter. EURC at ~€386M (May 2026). Reserves are held in BlackRock's Circle Reserve Fund plus cash at G-SIB banks, with monthly attestations. NYSE-listed since 5 June 2025.