Circle's flagship stablecoin shed billions in supply even as on-chain transaction volume surged 151% year-over-year.
USDC’s circulating supply has dropped from $73.3 billion at the end of June to roughly $71.8 billion as of August 6, a decline of approximately $1.5 billion in just over five weeks. About $1 billion of that evaporated in a single seven-day stretch during late July and early August, pointing to a concentrated wave of redemptions rather than a slow bleed.
The contraction comes at an interesting time for Circle, which just posted Q2 2026 earnings on August 5 showing $701 million in revenue. The stablecoin issuer is making more money than ever while its product literally shrinks.
Supply down, usage up
USDC’s circulating supply is still up 19% year-over-year compared to Q2 2025 levels. A $1.5 billion drawdown against a $73 billion base works out to roughly a 2% reduction.
USDC processed $14.8 trillion in on-chain transaction volume during Q2 2026, a 151% increase compared to the same quarter last year. That’s roughly equivalent to the annual GDP of the European Union moving through a single stablecoin’s rails in just three months.
Where did the money go?
The accelerated pace of redemptions in late July and early August, with roughly $1 billion leaving in a single week, does suggest some urgency behind the outflows. Whether that urgency came from a single large redeemer or a coordinated shift across multiple participants isn’t clear from the data alone.
Circle maintains weekly reserve disclosures and monthly attestations from Deloitte, its auditor, confirming that reserves in cash and short-duration US Treasuries match or exceed the outstanding supply. As of the most recent disclosure, that relationship holds.
Circle’s business keeps growing
The Q2 earnings release shows $701 million in revenue and reserve income. Circle is essentially running a money market fund that doesn’t share returns with its customers, earning yield on Treasury holdings while paying depositors nothing.
Circle extended its partnership with Coinbase through 2029. Coinbase earns a share of the reserve income in exchange for promoting USDC across its platform.
Circle also secured federal and state trust bank approvals during 2026, a move that positions the company favorably as US stablecoin regulation takes shape.
