Circle Layoffs Hit 5% of Staff in a Profitable Quarter: Why Now?

Circle Internet Group, the New York company behind the USDC stablecoin, cut about 5% of its workforce in the third quarter, costing $9.1 million mostly in severance and notice pay. The company tied the reduction in a filing to matching its structure with its strategy and operating model. The cuts came as interest on cash and Treasuries backing USDC, roughly three-quarters of revenue, shrank. Third-quarter net income from continuing operations rose 5% to $226 million and revenue and reserve income climbed 17% to $865 million, but a $182 million ARC token presale from Circle’s Arc blockchain, launched September 16, supplied much of the gain; excluding non-interest revenue, reserve income fell to about $658 million from roughly $711 million.