USDC onchain Volume Hits $9.6 Trillion, Up 680% Year Over Year: Report

In a new report titled From Stablecoins to Infrastructure: The Rise of the Internet Financial System in 2026, the company lays out how regulated digital currencies and blockchain-based networks are being woven into payments, capital markets, and institutional finance at a global scale.

The report frames 2025 as a turning point. After years of being associated primarily with trading and speculative activity, stablecoins are now being used in ways that resemble traditional financial plumbing, moving money between institutions, settling payments across borders, and supporting new types of onchain financial products. Circle describes this shift as structural, driven by real-world demand rather than short-term market cycles.

That transition is reflected in the scale of activity taking place onchain. According to Circle, USDC transaction volume reached $9.6 trillion in the third quarter of 2025 alone, a 680% increase compared with the same period a year earlier. The company attributes the surge to growing adoption across institutional finance, payments, and market infrastructure, suggesting stablecoins are becoming embedded in everyday financial workflows rather than remaining confined to crypto markets.

Liquidity remains a central pillar of Circle’s approach. The company reports that nearly $217 billion in USDC redemptions were processed during 2025, pointing to what it describes as continuous, always-on liquidity supported by integration with the global banking system. This level of redemption activity underscores the role stablecoins are beginning to play as settlement assets that can move smoothly between blockchain networks and traditional financial rails.

Circle’s report also highlights the growing importance of non-dollar stablecoins as digital finance expands beyond the United States. EURC, its euro-denominated stablecoin, became the leading euro stablecoin by both market share and circulation, accounting for more than half of the regulated euro stablecoin market. Circle links this growth to Europe’s MiCA framework, which provided clearer regulatory footing for euro-based digital currencies and helped accelerate institutional adoption.

Beyond payments and settlement, the report points to early momentum in onchain capital markets. Circle’s tokenized U.S. Treasury fund, USYC, reached $1 billion in circulation, offering real-time access to yield-bearing government securities on blockchain networks. The company presents this as an example of how traditional financial instruments are being adapted for programmable, onchain environments rather than rebuilt from scratch.

Interoperability is another area where Circle sees rapid progress. Its Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP) processed $31 billion in USDC transfers during the third quarter of 2025, up 740% year-over-year. USDC is now natively available on 30 different blockchain networks, reflecting growing demand for regulated digital money that can move freely across ecosystems without fragmenting liquidity.

The expansion of payment infrastructure also features prominently in the report. Circle notes that its Circle Payments Network, launched in May 2025, has scaled quickly, reaching an annualized transaction volume of $3.4 billion. The network has opened new payment corridors across regions such as Brazil and Nigeria, addressing cross-border settlement challenges that have long existed in traditional financial systems.

Taken together, these developments form what Circle describes as an internet financial system, a framework where money is programmable, interoperable, and available around the clock. Rather than positioning this model as a replacement for existing finance, the report emphasizes coexistence, with stablecoins and blockchain infrastructure increasingly operating alongside banks, payment providers, and financial institutions.

The company also acknowledges that the transition is still unfolding. Scaling this system will depend on continued regulatory clarity, robust security, and deeper integration between onchain networks and offchain financial institutions. Market conditions and competition among stablecoin issuers and infrastructure providers are expected to shape how quickly adoption continues.

Stablecoins are no longer peripheral to the global financial system. By pointing to rising transaction volumes, deep liquidity, growing interoperability, and the tokenization of traditional financial assets, the report suggests that blockchain-based money is increasingly taking on an operational role in global finance, designed to move value with the speed and flexibility of the internet itself.