From Decrypt · By Decrypt Agent
In brief
Circle has cut about 5% of its workforce to better align its organization with its operating model and strategic priorities, it disclosed in its Q3 results.
The USDC issuer booked $9.1 million in restructuring charges, mainly severance and notice-period payments, even as quarterly net income rose 5% to $226 million.
Circle joins a string of crypto firms that have cut staff this year, including Coinbase, BitGo, Bitwise and the Ethereum Foundation.
Circle, the company behind the USDC stablecoin, has cut about 5% of its workforce, according to its third-quarter earnings release on Wednesday.
The reduction was "designed to better align our organizational structure with our operating model and strategic priorities," the company said in footnotes to its financial tables. Circle did not say how many employees were affected or which teams were cut.
It recorded $9.1 million in restructuring expenses in the quarter, mostly cash payments for notice periods and severance, employee benefits and related costs. Those were partly offset by a $5.7 million reversal of stock-based compensation, as unvested shares held by departing employees were forfeited.
The cuts came in a profitable quarter. Circle reported net income from continuing operations of $226 million, up 5% from a year earlier, on total revenue and reserve income of $865 million, up 17%. Adjusted EBITDA jumped 85% year-on-year to $317 million.
PredictCryptoEthereum next move: Pump to $3K or Dump to $1.5K?
48%52%$3K$1.5K$154.6K volumeOpen until resolutionOpen until resolutionMuch of that growth came from outside Circle's core business. Other revenue rose to $207 million, including $182 million from the presale of ARC, the token for its Arc blockchain. Reserve income, the interest Circle earns on the assets backing USDC and its largest source of revenue, fell 8% to $658 million as interest rates on those reserves declined.
The average amount of USDC in circulation rose 8% from a year earlier to $73.3 billion, but ended the quarter flat at $73.9 billion. USDC's share of the U.S. dollar stablecoin market slipped to 27%, according to the company.
CEO Jeremy Allaire did not mention the job cuts in his comments on the results, or in a tweet on Wednesday calling Q3 "a big quarter for Circle." He said USDC carried 79% of all stablecoin transaction volume, up from 66% a year earlier, and that Circle's payments network ended the quarter at $41 billion in annualized volume, up 15-fold. "In January, the GENIUS Act takes effect and regulated digital dollars go mainstream," Allaire wrote. "Every layer of our platform is live and ready for it."
Q3 was a big quarter for Circle.
→ USDC carried 79% of all stablecoin transaction volume, up from 66% a year ago, and $13.9T moved onchain (+49%)