USD Coin (USDC) Review

How USD Coin scores in stablecoins

This entry rates USD Coin (USDC), issued by Circle, in our stablecoin ranking. The basis is desk research of Circle Internet Group's filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission: the annual report for 2025 and the quarterly report for the period to June 30, 2026, whose subsequent-events note runs to July 31, 2026. Both were checked on November 1, 2026. Circle's own website refused automated access during this check, so its transparency page and the monthly reports posted there were not reopened. No account was opened and no tokens were minted or redeemed. The category uses five equally weighted criteria, each marked 0 to 10, as set out in our ratings methodology.

The overall score is the plain average: (10 + 10 + 7 + 9 + 9) ÷ 5 = 45 ÷ 5 = 9.0. The previous overall was 8.6.

One mark changed, in two steps. On November 1, 2026 regulatory oversight rose from 8 to 9 after Circle's quarterly report disclosed final OCC approval on July 9, 2026 for First National Digital Currency Bank, N.A. (Circle National Trust), which opened on July 24 under direct OCC oversight, and a New York trust charter for Circle Internet Trust Company LLC on July 31. The earlier entry had marked Circle down for supervision spread across money transmitter regimes without one named charter. Under the category's scale rule of November 2, 2026, which gives 10 to an issuer chartered and supervised as a bank or trust company by a US prudential regulator, the mark then moved from 9 to 10, because Circle now holds an OCC national trust bank and a New York trust charter.

Strongest criterion: reserve transparency (10)

Circle's annual report says it has provided monthly third-party assurance over the value and composition of USDC reserves since launch, currently from a Big Four accounting firm, and that holdings of the Circle Reserve Fund are published daily on BlackRock's website. Monthly assurance plus a daily view of the fund that holds most of the reserve is why the mark is at the top of the scale, level with Gemini Dollar. Two caveats apply. The annual report does not name the firm, and the monthly reports themselves could not be reopened on Circle's site for this check, so the mark rests on the filings' description and on the instrument-level detail recorded when the reports were last read.

Oversight (10), custody and backing (9 each)

Regulatory oversight (10)

Circle already held a New York virtual currency licence, US money transmitter licences and, through Circle Internet Financial Europe SAS, a French e-money licence for issuing USDC in the European Economic Area. The quarterly report adds two charters: Circle National Trust, a national trust bank under direct OCC oversight that opened on July 24, 2026, and Circle Internet Trust Company LLC, chartered by the New York Department of Financial Services on July 31, 2026. Under the category's scale, a charter as a bank or trust company from a US prudential regulator earns 10, which places USDC level on this criterion with Gemini Dollar, Ripple USD and the two Paxos coins. One caveat is recorded rather than scored: the filing says Circle National Trust offers custody services to Circle and its own group companies at opening, and it does not say USDC is now issued by either chartered entity.

Custody & segregation (9)

The annual report names BNY as custodian of the Circle Reserve Fund's assets and says the remaining cash sits in accounts titled for the benefit of USDC holders, mainly at large banks. The quarterly report adds that Circle holds no legal, equitable or ownership interest in the reserves held for holders, and its balance sheet showed $73.2 billion of cash and equivalents segregated for stablecoin holders at June 30, 2026, a figure that covers all Circle stablecoins. The mark is not 10 because the cash banks are described by type rather than named.

Backing model clarity (9)

The reserve is a regulated fund plus cash: the Circle Reserve Fund is a government money market fund under SEC Rule 2a-7, managed by BlackRock and available only to Circle, and Circle says it does not lend or encumber reserves. The fund structure adds a layer between holders and the underlying Treasuries and repurchase agreements, which is why the mark is 9.

Weakest criterion: redemption rights (7)

Circle's quarterly report says it is obligated to redeem USDC one for one for Circle Mint customers, and that it does not redeem for holders who are not Circle Mint customers, except where rules such as the EU's require it. Circle Mint is an institutional service with screening. Most holders therefore leave through an exchange, broker or app, whose terms and solvency they depend on. That limit, not any failure to redeem, is what holds the mark at 7. Issuers that publish direct, free redemption terms score 9.

What the score does not cover

• Contract controls. Circle's published token design includes roles that can blacklist addresses, pause all transfers and upgrade the contract. These are not scored.
• Bank and fund concentration. In March 2023 Circle disclosed that more than $3 billion of reserve deposits were at Silicon Valley Bank, and USDC traded below $1 on some markets. Concentration risk is noted, not scored.
• Networks and bridges. Native USDC versus bridged versions, and the chains USDC runs on, were not measured.

Our guide on how to assess a stablecoin explains what reserve reports and redemption rules can and cannot show.

USD Coin vs Ripple USD and Gemini Dollar

USD Coin is second of ten at 9.0, 0.4 behind Gemini Dollar, which leads the category at 9.4. The two are level on transparency and oversight (10 each) and on custody and backing (9 each); Gemini Dollar's lead is redemption, 9 against 7. Ripple USD is one of three coins on 8.8, with Pax Dollar and PayPal USD, 0.2 behind USDC. RLUSD matches USDC on oversight (10), redemption (7), custody and backing (9 each) and scores lower on transparency (9 against 10). PayPal USD and Pax Dollar, both issued by Paxos's OCC national trust bank, match USDC on oversight (10) and backing (9), score higher on redemption (9 against 7) and lower on transparency and custody.

Who this rating suits

The score describes a stablecoin with the most frequent reserve disclosure in the category, a named fund manager and custodian, and an expanding set of charters, but with direct redemption reserved for institutions. It is most relevant to a holder who wants to see what backs the token and accepts that their route back to dollars runs through a platform. The score assesses published documentation and is not a recommendation to hold any token.