Why Circle stock is up 17% before bell on Wednesday?

Circle Internet Group stock (NYSE: CRCL) jumped over 17% in premarket trading on Wednesday after the stablecoin issuer posted a sharply stronger Q4 and surprised investors with just how fast USDC is expanding.

With CRCL last closing around $61.37 and changing hands near $71 in premarket quotes, the stock was trading roughly in line with a “17% before-the-bell” move.

The rally comes less than a year after Circle’s June 2025 NYSE debut, putting fresh attention on whether stablecoins are turning into a mainstream financial rail.

Circle stock: Numbers that moved the market

Circle said total revenue and reserve income rose 77% year over year to $770 million in the fourth quarter.

Net income from continuing operations swung to $133 million, while adjusted EBITDA jumped 412% to $167 million, a margin that underscores how quickly the business can scale when USDC balances rise.

Diluted EPS was $0.43 for the quarter, according to the company’s release.

The operating driver was USDC itself.

USDC in circulation ended 2025 at $75.3 billion, up 72%, and on-chain USDC transaction volume in Q4 totaled $11.9 trillion, up 247%.

Circle’s earnings release also pegged stablecoin market share at 28% at year-end.

A big part of Circle’s model is interest-like income on the assets backing USDC, which tends to rise when average USDC balances grow.

Circle reported reserve income of $733 million in Q4, up 69%, alongside “other revenue” of $37 million that rose $34 million year over year.

For the full year, Circle reported total revenue and reserve income of $2.7 billion, up 64%, and adjusted EBITDA of $582 million, up 104%.

Also Read: Top reasons why Circle stock has crashed by 75% from ATH

What’s fueling USDC?

Circle’s release pointed to enterprise adoption as a key accelerant.

It highlighted Visa’s move to allow US issuers and acquirers to fully settle with Visa using USDC, enabling settlement outside traditional banking hours.

Circle also cited Intuit’s multi-year partnership to integrate USDC and Circle’s infrastructure across its platform.

The company is also leaning into on-chain finance use cases.

Circle said it partnered with Polymarket “to advance its use of USDC as the core collateral and settlement asset” for its markets.

Investors are also watching whether Circle can turn stablecoin growth into a broader platform business.

Circle disclosed progress on Arc, saying its public testnet has 100+ participants and is running with near 100% uptime, with daily average transaction volumes of 2.3 million based on the trailing 30 days as of Feb. 20, and more than 166 million total transactions since launch.

Circle said Arc remains on track for a mainnet launch this year.

On guidance, Circle said it is targeting a multi-year 40% CAGR in USDC in circulation “through cycle,” and guided FY2026 “other revenue” at $150 million to $170 million.

Circle also emphasized its regulatory positioning, noting it received conditional approval in December from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish a national trust bank.