After stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group (NYSE: CRCL) reported its second-quarter 2026 results, its shares rose roughly 6%–9% in pre-market trading. According to its SEC filings, total quarterly revenue was $701 million; USDC supply reached $73.3 billion, up 19% year over year; and on-chain volume over the same period was $14.8 trillion, up 151%. The Korean outlet Tokenpost’s report was the first to circulate these figures during Asia-Pacific hours. The original data can be checked on the Circle investor relations page and SEC EDGAR.
The notable point is the gap between the two growth rates: supply grew only 19%, while on-chain volume grew 151%. That is not a retail payments boom. It suggests USDC is increasingly used as a “carrier medium” for institutional settlement and cross-exchange transfers, with the same stock of tokens called on repeatedly on-chain. For card users, this distinction shapes every judgment below.
Editorial Take: What These Numbers Mean for USDT Card Users
The short version: most users who top up with USDT will notice no change within 7 days. Growth in USDC supply does not change USDT redemption, depeg risk, or on-chain fees.
Three scenarios could be indirectly affected within a 30–90 day window:
1. Top-up currency for EU/EEA users. Since MiCA took effect, USDT has been gradually squeezed out of exchanges and card channels in the European Economic Area, and USDC has become the only USD stablecoin with a complete authorization path as an EMT (e-money token). A considerable part of Circle’s supply growth comes from this structural replacement. If you use a virtual card in the EU, you are more likely over the next quarter to see issuers switch the default top-up asset from USDT to USDC, or add a conversion spread to USDT top-ups. For the boundaries, see our EU compliance guide.
2. Settlement and rebate structures of exchange-backed cards. The economics of Coinbase Card are closely tied to USDC revenue sharing. Higher distribution costs at Circle often correspond to larger USDC incentives on the exchange side. Exchange cards such as Bybit Card typically convert USDT to fiat at the moment of purchase, so a rising USDC share mainly affects their quote sources rather than user-facing fees.
3. Asia-Pacific users are largely unaffected. The Asia Elite variant of MPCard runs on an Asia-Pacific route and is mainly topped up with USDT. Its fees and limits are as stated on the official page, with no direct link to Circle’s quarterly data. This is one reason we list it as our Editor’s Pick: the route is simple, with few external variables. To understand the underlying structure of U cards first, read What Is a U Card.
Historical Comparison: How This Differs from 2023 and 2024
The March 2023 USDC depeg is the event most often used as an analogy, and the easiest to get wrong. At the time, Circle held $3.3 billion of its reserves at Silicon Valley Bank, and USDC briefly fell to about $0.87 before regaining its peg within days. That was a single-point risk exposure on the reserve side; this quarter is a confirmation of scale on the revenue side. The nature is the opposite. For users who lived through 2023, the things to watch when assessing a stablecoin issuer are the reserve custody structure and disclosure frequency, not the supply figure itself.
The June 2024 implementation of MiCA’s stablecoin provisions is the closer comparison. European platforms progressively delisted stablecoins that had not obtained authorization, USDT availability in the EEA narrowed, and USDC absorbed that demand. The European share within today’s $73.3 billion supply is essentially a delayed realization of that regulatory shift. What is the same: both are regulation-driven share transfers. What differs: 2024 was “passive delisting,” while 2026 is “active integration,” with card issuers beginning to design products around USDC as the default rail rather than being forced to replace USDT.
Circle’s NYSE listing in June 2025 changed the availability of information. Before the listing, USDC data relied on third-party attestation reports; now there are SEC filings every quarter. This is a tangible gain for users: you can verify supply on EDGAR yourself instead of relaying a news headline.
Compliance Boundaries: What Is Clear and What Remains Gray
Clearly permitted: In the United States, stablecoin issuance and payment use now have a federal legislative framework (the GENIUS Act, signed in 2025). Detailed implementing rules are still in the Treasury’s rulemaking stage, and the final effective date is as announced officially. For background, see our US compliance guide.
Clearly restricted: The EU has clear constraints on offering unauthorized stablecoins on regulated platforms. USDT and USDC are treated differently in the EEA, and this is currently the hardest line.
Still gray: Most Asia-Pacific jurisdictions have no dedicated rules for individuals topping up virtual cards with stablecoins for spending, so it falls in an area that is neither explicitly prohibited nor explicitly permitted. In our Hong Kong compliance guide and Japan compliance guide, we separately outline the licensed stablecoin framework and the funds transfer business regulation. The two paths are entirely different, so do not apply one to the other.
What to Watch in the Next 30–90 Days
- Circle’s Q3 earnings (expected in November): Look at whether supply can climb above $80 billion, and at changes in distribution costs as a share of revenue. The latter directly signals how tight or loose USDC rebates will be on the exchange side.
- Whether the on-chain volume growth rate falls back: If 151% reflects a one-time settlement migration, it will drop noticeably next quarter. If it stays in triple digits, USDC has become a primary institutional settlement rail.
- EU card issuers’ announcements on default top-up currency: Watch for changes in the asset ordering on the top-up page inside your issuer’s app, which usually appear about two weeks before official announcements.
- Implementing rules for US stablecoin legislation: The public comment period on the Treasury’s draft rules will determine the pace at which US-region card products restart.
Editorial Recommendations
Users holding an MPCard Asia-Pacific route card: no action needed. This news does not change your top-up route, fees, or limits.
EU/EEA users: Within the next 30 days, check whether your issuer’s top-up asset list has added USDC, and whether USDT top-ups now carry a conversion spread. If spreads appear, compare the lowest-fee USDT cards first before deciding whether to migrate. Do not switch cards in haste because of a single announcement.
Users paying subscriptions with stablecoins: For fixed small recurring charges such as ChatGPT Plus (official: $20/month), the impact falls on the top-up side rather than the charge side, so no adjustment is needed this quarter.
Users planning to open a new card: We do not recommend changing your currency preference because of one Circle earnings report. An issuer’s quarterly results describe its own health, not the approval rate or fees of the card in your hand. Those depend on whether the card BIN, account region, and IP are consistent. These three factors will do more to determine whether your next charge succeeds than any earnings report.