Who are Circle's main competitors?
Circle's FY2025 10-K says its main competition is private issuers of other stablecoins and technology startups that provide tools to blockchain developers, and it names one rival: "our primary competitor Tether", an offshore issuer. Tether's USDT is roughly $183 billion against USDC's nearly $76 billion (Fortune, September 2026); in April 2026 USDT held about 62% of the stablecoin market and USDC about 25%, per CoinGecko data cited by Fortune. In January 2026 Tether launched USAT, a US stablecoin designed to comply with US rules, aimed at the market where Circle has had the edge. The 10-K's second category, other US-regulated dollar stablecoin issuers, has filled up in 2026: PayPal's PYUSD, issued by Paxos, at about $2.8 billion in July; Fidelity's FIDD, announced in January; Fiserv's FIUSD for banks and credit unions, live from July; Ripple's RLUSD, which CNBC calls a Circle competitor; and Open USD, a stablecoin from Open Standard backed by Stripe, Visa, BlackRock and more than 140 firms that plans to return most reserve income to participants. Circle also faces payment networks, tokenized money market funds, blockchain networks and banks. It answers with scale and a charter: $73.3 billion of USDC in circulation and $701 million of revenue and reserve income in Q2 2026, and final OCC approval for Circle National Trust on July 10, 2026. On AI, Circle sells infrastructure for agent payments: USDC settled 99.3% of x402 agent-payment volume, and Circle's Agent Marketplace listed more than 900 paid services in August 2026.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]
Data as of Nov 2, 2026 · Circle profile updated Oct 22, 2026 · 23 sources cited on this page · 56 fintechs profiled on this site · Markdown
What does Circle's 10-K say about its competition?
"Our main competition today primarily consists of private issuers of other stablecoins as well as technology startups providing tools and services to blockchain developers, including digital wallets," the FY2025 10-K says. "We are also facing increasing competition from financial services companies and newly emerging yield-bearing digital assets, including TMMFs, and blockchain network providers that seek to become the preferred rails for stablecoin issuance and settlement."[1]
Within stablecoins it competes with two categories: "offshore, unregulated stablecoin issuers, like our primary competitor Tether", and "other primarily U.S.-based regulated digital asset industry participants who are issuing U.S. dollar-based stablecoins." Competition also runs through payment services and networks, tokenized-product issuers, interoperability, custody, wallet and developer-tooling providers, banks, and national governments and central banks; the 10-K warns that clearer stablecoin rules may bring new entrants, "including banks with established customer bases and financial infrastructure".[1]
Which companies compete with Circle, and where?
One row per competitor, with the latest dated figure published for it in the sources cited. Market capitalizations come from different trackers on different dates.
| Competitor | Where they compete | Dated scale figure | How they compare on AI | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tether (USDT, USAT) | Dollar stablecoins worldwide; named in Circle's 10-K as its primary competitor; launched USAT for the US market in January 2026 | USDT market cap roughly $183 billion (September 2026); about 62% of the stablecoin market in April 2026; $15 billion of profit in 2025 | Not described in the sources cited | Circle 10-K; Fortune[1][2][3][4] |
| PayPal and Paxos (PYUSD) | US-regulated dollar stablecoin issued by Paxos for PayPal, available in 70 countries beyond the US and on Polygon | Market cap of about $2.8 billion (July 2026) | Not described in the sources cited | American Banker; Fortune[5][4] |
| Open Standard (Open USD) | A stablecoin backed by Stripe, Visa, BlackRock and more than 140 businesses, designed to return most reserve revenue to participants; led by the co-founder of Stripe's Bridge | Announced June 30, 2026 for launch later in 2026; Circle's stock slipped 13% on the news | Backer Stripe built a payments foundation model trained on tens of billions of transactions (May 2025) | Fortune; Stripe[3][11] |
| Ripple (RLUSD) | Dollar stablecoin for institutional settlement and treasury; CNBC calls Circle a Ripple competitor; Ripple is among OCC charter approvals or applicants | Robinhood deal to use RLUSD for institutional settlement and treasury (October 2026) | Not described in the sources cited | CNBC[8][12] |
| Fidelity (FIDD) | Fidelity Digital Dollar, fully reserve-backed, for institutional and retail customers | Announced January 28, 2026, into a total stablecoin market of around $315 billion | Not described in the sources cited | Fortune[6] |
| Fiserv (FIUSD) | A stablecoin for banks and credit unions, meant to keep stablecoin deposits inside their accounts | Going live in July 2026, per CEO Mike Lyons | Not described in the sources cited | Payments Dive[7] |
| Coinbase and other charter seekers | Regulated crypto infrastructure: Coinbase, BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, Ripple and Paxos have OCC approvals or applications, in what CNBC calls a race to own more of the regulated financial stack | Not in the sources cited | Coinbase introduced the x402 agent-payment protocol in May 2025; agents on it typically pay in USDC | CNBC; Fortune[12][13] |
What companies are similar to Circle?
Close alternatives for a business choosing a dollar stablecoin or stablecoin infrastructure, with why each is comparable.
| Company | Why it is similar | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Tether | The largest dollar stablecoin issuer, and since January 2026 the issuer of USAT, a token designed for US rules. | Fortune[4] |
| Paxos | Issues PayPal's PYUSD, a federally regulated dollar token, and holds or seeks an OCC charter like Circle. | American Banker; CNBC[5][12] |
| Ripple | Issues RLUSD and sells stablecoin infrastructure such as treasury and prime services, the model CNBC says Circle is also pursuing. | CNBC[8] |
| Open Standard | A new dollar stablecoin backed by Stripe, Visa and BlackRock that targets the same internet-economy payments as USDC. | Fortune[3] |
| Fiserv | Offers banks and credit unions their own route to stablecoins, FIUSD, through a digital asset platform. | Payments Dive[7] |
What does the Circle profile record on this topic?
The rows below are the entries of the Circle USDC AI strategy profile that bear on this page, as of Oct 22, 2026; the profile holds the full record of 13 dated moves, 9 use cases and 18 sources.
| Use case | What the record shows | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agent Marketplace and x402 Facilitator Service | Sanctions-screened, health-checked catalogue of x402 services agents can discover and pay for; 900+ paid services by Q2 2026; hosted facilitator settles USDC on Arc, Base and Polygon. | In production | [9][14] |
| Arc Studio, Circle Skills and MCP server | AI coding agent that writes, previews and deploys on-chain apps on Arc testnet and can be driven from Claude Code, Codex or Cursor; Circle Skills and an MCP server let AI IDEs generate code against Circle APIs; the 10-K says Circle uses AI for engineering code assistance. | In production | [15][16][1] |
| AI-assisted AML alert review | The FY2025 10-K lists AML alerts review among Circle's uses of AI and data tools, with human oversight; Agent Marketplace listings are sanctions-screened. | In production | [1][14] |
| AI in customer support | Customer support is the first use the 10-K names for Circle's AI and generative-AI tools; no product name or metrics are disclosed. | In production | [1] |
| AI tools as a disclosed risk | The 10-K says AI, ML and generative-AI tools 'could enhance intellectual property, cybersecurity, operational, and technological risks' and may require proprietary datasets and testing for accuracy and bias. | In production | [1] |
| CPN Managed Payments | Lets a business accept agent-initiated x402/MPP payments and settle payouts without building its own stablecoin custody, screening and payout infrastructure. | In production | [17] |
| Date | Move | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 19, 2026 | CPN Managed Payments launches; Proof demo pairs x401 identity with x402 payments | Circle launched CPN Managed Payments so a business selling data, content or API access can accept and settle agent payments without building its own custody and payout rails; separately, Circle and Proof said they would demo at Money20/20 an AI agent authenticating with a Proof-verified credential over the x401 protocol and paying from a Circle Agent Wallet over x402. | [17][18] |
| Oct 14, 2026 | Chainalysis counts 138 million agent payments on Base | Fortune reports cumulative x402 payments on Base rose from about 1,500 in mid-2025 to over 138 million by Q3 2026, mostly under 10 cents and typically funded in USDC. | [13] |
| Aug 5, 2026 | Q2 2026 results: 900+ paid agent services | USDC circulation $73.3 billion; Agent Marketplace home to 900+ paid services; 99.3% of x402 agent-payment volume in USDC; Circle promises an H2 roadmap 'that includes enabling agents to earn'. | [9] |
| Jul 10, 2026 | OCC final approval for Circle National Trust | First National Digital Currency Bank, N.A. approved as a national trust bank for digital-asset custody; it will not issue stablecoins or take insured deposits. | [10][19] |
| May 11, 2026 | Circle Agent Stack launches; Q1 2026 results | Circle CLI, Agent Wallets and Agent Marketplace join Nanopayments and Circle Skills; Q1 2026 USDC circulation $77.0 billion, revenue and reserve income $694 million, with a $222 million ARC token presale. | [20][21][22] |
| Mar 9, 2026 | FY2025 10-K discloses internal AI use and agentic payments | AI and generative AI used for customer support, AML alert review, code assistance and marketing with human oversight; CPN designed to support agentic payments; AI tools flagged as a risk factor. | [1] |
| Jun 30, 2025 | Application for a national trust bank charter filed with the OCC | Conditional approval followed in December 2025. | [10] |
| Jun 4, 2025 | Circle prices its IPO at $31 | Above the $27-28 range, raising $1.05 billion from 34 million shares at a $6.8 billion valuation; shares began trading on the NYSE as CRCL the next day. | [23] |
Who are Circle's biggest competitors?
Tether above all: Circle's 10-K calls it "our primary competitor", and USDT was roughly $183 billion against USDC's nearly $76 billion in September 2026. Other US-regulated issuers follow, including PayPal's PYUSD issued by Paxos, Ripple's RLUSD, Fidelity's FIDD, Fiserv's FIUSD and Open USD, backed by Stripe, Visa and BlackRock.
What companies are similar to Circle?
Tether is the closest by business, as the other large dollar stablecoin issuer. Paxos, which issues PYUSD, and Ripple, which issues RLUSD and has sought an OCC charter, are the closest regulated US peers. Open Standard and Fiserv are newer entrants offering stablecoins for internet businesses and for banks.
USDC vs USDT: which is bigger?
USDT. Fortune put Tether's USDT at roughly $183 billion and Circle's USDC at nearly $76 billion in September 2026; CoinGecko data cited by Fortune gave USDT about 62% of the stablecoin market and USDC about 25% in April 2026. Circle reported $73.3 billion of USDC in circulation at the end of Q2 2026.
Does Open USD compete with Circle?
Yes. Open Standard, backed by Stripe, Visa, BlackRock and more than 140 other businesses, announced Open USD on June 30, 2026, aiming at the top two issuers, Tether and Circle. It plans to return most reserve revenue to participants, minus a fee, and Circle's stock slipped 13% after the announcement, Fortune reported.
How does Circle compare with rivals on AI?
Circle has the most visible AI-agent business among stablecoin issuers in the sources cited: its Agent Stack launched in May 2026, more than 900 paid services were listed in its Agent Marketplace by August, and USDC settled 99.3% of x402 agent-payment volume. Coinbase created the x402 protocol; no AI products are described for Tether, Paxos or Ripple.
- Circle Internet Group, Inc. Annual Report on Form 10-K for fiscal 2025
- Binance invests $100 million in one-time rival Circle and expands its USDC partnership
- Stripe, Visa and over 140 other businesses to launch stablecoin to rival Tether and Circle
- Crypto giant Tether pushes into the U.S. with USAT stablecoin to challenge Circle
- PayPal adds PYUSD to Polygon
- Fidelity enters crowded stablecoin field with new FIDD token
- Fiserv stablecoin arrives next month
- Ripple strikes deal with Robinhood to expand its RLUSD digital dollar
- Circle Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results
- Circle Receives Final OCC Approval to Establish National Trust Bank
- Stripe unveils the world's first AI foundation model for payments and more (Sessions 2025)
- Stablecoin issuer Circle just got the greenlight to operate as a bank. The shares are up 5%
- AI agents are on a shopping spree: Total payments on Base blockchain eclipse 138 million, Chainalysis finds
- Release notes - Agent stack - 2026
- Arc Studio (Circle developer documentation)
- Use Circle's MCP server in your IDE
- Turn Agent Traffic Into Revenue With CPN Managed Payments
- Circle and Proof Help Businesses Trust AI Agent Transactions
- Circle is granted a trust bank charter from the OCC
- Circle Launches AI Infrastructure to Power the Agentic Economy
- Introducing Circle Agent Stack: Financial Infrastructure for the Agentic Economy
- Circle Reports First Quarter 2026 Results
- Stablecoin issuer Circle prices IPO at $31 per share, above expected range, ahead of NYSE debut
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