Circle’s ARC token sale lifts earnings as lower yields pressure USDC income

Circle's pivot matters because it tests whether a stablecoin issuer can build a revenue base independent of the interest-rate cycle that has long driven its economics. The ARC sale flatters earnings now, but it also signals a structural shift toward payments and staking as reserve income softens. That transition affects the whole stablecoin sector, where rivals face the same yield squeeze. The open question is whether fee-based and staking revenue can scale fast enough to offset reserve-income erosion, and how much of the earnings lift is durable versus one-off.