Circle Earnings Surge as Allaire Ties AI to Stablecoins

• Allaire said AI agents will use programmable USDC via tools like Arc and CCTP for onchain finance.

• USDC supply rose 72% to $75.3B, while quarterly onchain volume hit $11.9T.

• Shares jumped 35% premarket as revenue reached $770M and net income climbed to $133M.

Circle reported earnings beat expectations as CEO Jeremy Allaire outlined how blockchain, stablecoins, and AI are converging. The update followed Circle’s fourth-quarter earnings release. The results showed rising USDC circulation, higher revenue, and expanding infrastructure activity across onchain payments and settlement.

Allaire Frames AI Agents as Economic Participants

Allaire said the internet is shifting from moving information toward moving value. According to him, blockchain, stablecoins, and AI now operate as a combined system. He stated that future economic activity will involve tens or hundreds of billions of AI agents performing payments and treasury functions.

Notably, Allaire said these agents require programmable digital dollars and open infrastructure. He pointed to Circle’s work on native internet finance tools. These include Arc, CCTP, StableFX, and the Circle Payments Network. Each product supports automated, onchain economic activity using USDC.

Q4 Results Show Strong Growth Across Key Metrics

Circle reported diluted earnings per share of $0.43 for the fourth quarter. Analysts expected $0.16, representing a 169% earnings beat. Revenue and reserve income reached $770 million, exceeding estimates by 3%, according to the earnings release.

USDC circulation ended the year at $75.3 billion, growing 72% year over year. Meanwhile, onchain USDC transaction volume reached $11.9 trillion during the quarter, up 247%. Reserve income totaled $733 million, while net income rose to $133 million. Adjusted EBITDA climbed 412% to $167 million.

Market Reaction and Platform Expansion Continue

Following the earnings release, Circle Internet Group shares rose over 35% before market open. The stock previously closed near $61.37 and traded around $71 in premarket activity. Investors responded to higher profitability and accelerating revenue growth.

Separately, stablecoin payments volume doubled to $400 billion despite declines in Bitcoin prices. Stripe also benefited from rising stablecoin usage and now seeks to acquire PayPal.

Circle highlighted partnerships with Visa and Intuit. Visa now supports USDC settlement for U.S. issuers. Meanwhile, Arc’s public testnet surpassed 166 million transactions with near-full uptime.