Circle had the largest YoY revenue growth among fintech companies

Circle had a challenging year, with rapid growth and economic headwinds. For 2025, Circle Internet Group Inc. achieved over 66% in revenue growth. 

Circle Internet Group Inc., the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, saw over 66% in revenue growth. The group emerged as a growth leader among other crypto-friendly fintech companies. 

Circle’s main source of revenue came from its role as a stablecoin issuer. The company retained most of the fees, achieving $2.93B in revenues. Based on DeFi Llama data, daily fees for Circle grew more rapidly over the past 12 months. 

As a result, Circle produced over $8M in fees toward the end of 2025, gradually doubling daily revenues. The Circle Deployer smart contract on Ethereum was among the busiest for the past year. Additionally, Circle greatly expanded its supply on Solana, becoming an integral part of DEX trading and lending. 

Circle mixes crypto-native uses with fintech expansion

Circle’s USDC tokens gained importance both for crypto insiders and as a fintech tool. Major payment companies like MasterCard also adopted stablecoins as a payment gateway, available for selected markets. 

USDC tokens were added as a payment tool through Worldpay. Stripe, Finastra, and FIS also added stablecoin options. 

USDC and other Circle assets became a key to US and European markets, which introduced new stablecoin legislation, challenging the primacy of USDT. USDC retained its advantage as a fully compliant token, expanding its influence in 2025 after the past few years set up a new regulatory framework. 

Is Circle overvalued? 

Over the course of 2025, Circle had a turbulent trading year. CRCL stock started out in the $81 range, climbed to a peak of $293. The shares prepared to close the year with a net loss since the IPO, trading just above $82. 

For the entire 2025, Circle also had a high ratio of enterprise value to gross income and enterprise value to net income. 

Circle is still a growing company, meaning its current gross and net income are relatively small compared to the market valuation. More mature fintech companies like PayPal have a 2X ratio of enterprise value to annualized revenue. 

For Circle, the ratio is over 25 times, meaning the enterprise value is relatively large compared to gross revenues. The company also has a 35X ratio of enterprise value against net income. 

Circle now relies on stablecoin adoption and income from operations to bridge the gap with its post-IPO valuation. The company still has a market cap above $18B, standing within the top 5 of fintech companies. 

Despite the generally growing supply and usage of stablecoins, Circle is facing headwinds as both fintech and crypto are re-evaluating their use cases. USDC may have to pivot from crypto-insider activities and become a global payment gateway to avoid being trapped in a shrinking market.

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