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Circle Revenue Jumps 77% as USDC Widens Gap Over RLUSD

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Crypto Breaking News

Circle reported strong fourth-quarter results, and it widened the measurable gap in the regulated stablecoin market. The company posted sharp revenue growth, and USDC circulation reached new highs. Meanwhile, Ripple’s RLUSD operates from a far smaller base, and the contrast highlights shifting scale dynamics in dollar-backed tokens.

USDC Expands Revenue Base and On-Chain Footprint

Circle Internet Group increased total revenue and reserve income by 77% year over year in the fourth quarter of 2025. The company generated $770 million, and reserve income accounted for $733 million of that figure. Moreover, reserve income rose 69% from the prior year, even as yields moderated.

USDC’s average circulation doubled during the period, and that expansion supported higher aggregate reserve balances. However, reserve yield declined to 3.8%, reflecting a 68 basis point drop. Even so, larger balances offset lower yields, and overall income continued to grow.

Distribution costs without revenue climbed 136% to $309 million, yet margins improved to 40%. Net income from continuing operations reached $133 million, and adjusted EBITDA rose 412% to $167 million. As a result, Circle strengthened its operating profile while scaling distribution.

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USDC closed 2025 with $75.3 billion in circulation, marking a 72% annual increase. In addition, on-chain transaction volume hit $11.9 trillion in the fourth quarter alone. That figure represented a 247% surge, and it underscored rising usage across exchanges and payment channels.

Circle issues USDC as a regulated dollar-backed stablecoin, and it holds reserves in cash and short-duration instruments. The company positions USDC as a compliance-focused alternative within the stablecoin sector. Consequently, growth in circulation directly expands reserve income capacity and reported earnings power.

RLUSD Operates from Smaller Capital Base

Ripple introduced RLUSD to expand its stablecoin presence within global payments and exchange markets. However, RLUSD’s market capitalization stands at $1.56 billion. Daily trading volume remains around $124 million, and that scale limits reserve income potential compared with USDC.

Unlike Circle, Ripple remains privately held, and it does not publish detailed quarterly financial statements. Therefore, direct profitability comparisons remain limited by available disclosures. Even so, the difference in circulating supply creates a clear quantitative contrast.

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Stablecoin economics rely on reserve balances and prevailing yields, and larger supplies generally produce higher income. Because RLUSD circulates at a fraction of USDC’s size, its reserve base remains smaller. As a result, operating leverage and reported earnings capacity trail behind USDC’s scale.

Ripple integrates RLUSD into its broader payments network, leveraging established exchange relationships. The company built its reputation on cross-border settlement infrastructure, and RLUSD extends that model into dollar liquidity. Nevertheless, current data show that adoption levels remain significantly lower than those of USDC.

Market observers previously speculated about potential consolidation within the stablecoin segment, including reports about possible acquisition discussions. However, no confirmed transaction has reshaped the competitive landscape. Instead, current standings reflect organic growth and differing starting points.

USDC’s dominance rests on circulation size, reserve economics, and transparent reporting metrics. Meanwhile, RLUSD operates within Ripple’s global framework but from a narrower capital base. The competitive gap, therefore, reflects measurable differences in supply and income rather than structural capability constraints.

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Risk & affiliate notice: Crypto assets are volatile and capital is at risk. This article may contain affiliate links. Read full disclosure

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Coinbase Commerce seed phrase page alarms security community ahead of March 31 shutdown

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Epstein files show crypto ties to Coinbase, Blockstream: DOJ

Coinbase Commerce’s seed phrase withdrawal page is drawing fierce criticism from security researchers, who warn it normalizes typing 12-word recovery phrases into a website just days before the March 31 shutdown deadline.

Summary

  • A Coinbase Commerce subdomain at withdraw.commerce.coinbase.com/seed-phrase asks merchants to type 12-word seed phrases into a plain-text web form to recover funds.
  • SlowMist’s Cos, CISO 23pds and on-chain sleuth ZachXBT say the page and its cloneable front end create a powerful phishing template, especially as Commerce is wound down into Coinbase Business by March 31, 2026.
  • Critics argue the flow trains users to ignore the industry rule to never enter a seed phrase online, reviving fears after earlier Coinbase impersonation scams stole about $2 million from users.

A subdomain page belonging to Coinbase Commerce — the company’s merchant payments product — has drawn sharp criticism from leading blockchain security researchers after it was found to be prompting users to enter their 12-word seed phrases, also known as mnemonic or recovery phrases, directly into a web form in plain text. The controversy erupted on Wednesday and intensified Thursday morning, with the discovery coming at a particularly sensitive moment: Coinbase is winding down Commerce entirely by March 31, 2026, as part of a broader platform consolidation under Coinbase Business — meaning tens of thousands of merchants have a narrow window to withdraw their funds.

The page in question, hosted at withdraw.commerce.coinbase.com/seed-phrase, was referenced in a now-deleted Coinbase Commerce help document that directed users to recover funds by importing their recovery phrases into compatible wallets such as Coinbase Wallet or MetaMask. SlowMist founder Yu Xian (known online as Cos) described the practice as demonstrating an “unbelievable lack of security awareness” from a major industry player, having received multiple user reports about the page. On-chain investigator ZachXBT independently flagged the page, warning that its existence creates a direct attack surface for social engineering campaigns targeting Coinbase users.

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The concerns go beyond the page itself. SlowMist’s Chief Information Security Officer, known as 23pds, escalated the alarm by pointing out that the page’s sitemap contains structural flaws that make it trivially easy for malicious actors to replicate. Using tools such as ResourcesSaver, attackers can download the front-end code and deploy visually identical phishing sites — particularly dangerous when combined with Coinbase-lookalike domains that could credibly deceive even experienced users.

The fundamental problem is one of normalisation. Every legitimate security protocol in the cryptocurrency industry is built on a single, non-negotiable principle: a seed phrase should never be entered into any website, form, or app under any circumstances — not even an official one. Seed phrases are the master cryptographic keys to a wallet; whoever possesses them owns the funds. By building a recovery workflow that requires users to type their phrase into a browser, Coinbase has — whether intentionally or through oversight — trained users to accept a behaviour that scammers routinely exploit. Coinfomania noted that the tool even suggests copying phrases from Google Drive as an intermediate step, compounding the risk.

ZachXBT’s warning carries particular weight given his track record. In January 2026, he exposed a Coinbase support impersonation scam that resulted in approximately $2 million in stolen crypto — a scheme that relied on users being conditioned to trust Coinbase-branded interfaces. The Commerce seed phrase page represents a ready-made template for a follow-up attack of potentially far greater scale.

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As of Thursday, Coinbase had not publicly responded to the criticism, despite multiple requests for comment. The company has offered alternative withdrawal methods — including a separate commerce withdrawal tool considered safer by researchers — but has not removed or modified the seed phrase page. With twelve days remaining until Commerce is permanently disabled, the pressure on the exchange to act is mounting rapidly. For the crypto industry’s most prominent publicly listed company, the reputational stakes of a mass phishing event triggered by its own migration tooling could scarcely be higher.

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EtherFi Allocates $25M to Plume to Bring RWA Yield Onchain

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EtherFi Allocates $25M to Plume to Bring RWA Yield Onchain

EtherFi has allocated $25 million to Plume’s real-world asset (RWA) protocol Nest, marking a move to integrate tokenized RWA yield directly into its platform as it looks to expand beyond crypto-native sources of return.

According to Thursday’s announcement, rollout will begin with exposure to Plume’s nBASIS vault, which is tied to Superstate’s USCC crypto carry fund, with plans to add a dedicated real-world asset vault directly into EtherFi’s interface in a later phase.

The initial allocation gives EtherFi users indirect exposure to a strategy combining crypto basis trades, staking rewards and government securities, a structure traditionally available only to institutional or sophisticated investors.

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The integration will extend RWA exposure across EtherFi’s more than $6 billion in user deposits. According to Plume, the vault structure is designed to simplify access by handling execution and reporting onchain, while incorporating predefined risk controls and compliance features.

EtherFi is a crypto yield platform that began with Ethereum liquid staking and has since expanded into broader yield offerings, while Plume provides infrastructure that packages institutional investment strategies into onchain vaults, giving users exposure to institutional strategies managed offchain through integrated crypto platforms.

Plume has also taken steps toward integrating with traditional financial systems, including registering as a transfer agent with the US Securities and Exchange Commission in October.

Related: Babylon-Ledger tie-up expands access to Bitcoin Vaults for collateral use

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Tokenized real-world assets activity surges

Unlike traditional DeFi yield, which is generated within crypto markets, real-world assets strategies derive returns from income streams such as interest on government securities and lending activity.

According to data from RWA.xyz, the value of tokenized real-world assets has surged to more than $27 billion from about $5.7 billion at the start of 2025. Much of that growth has been driven by tokenized US Treasury products, which account for over $11 billion in onchain value.

Real-world assets onchain. Source: RWA.xyz

Tokenized Treasurys give investors onchain access to government-backed debt instruments, combining blockchain-based settlement with yield from short-term bills and money market funds. 

Products from companies including BlackRock, Franklin Templeton and Circle account for a significant share of the market, with Circle’s USYC holding about $2.3 billion, BlackRock’s BUIDL fund around $2 billion and Franklin Templeton’s onchain fund over $1 billion in assets.

Tokenized Treasurys. Source: RWA.xyz

Plume reports 262,325 RWA holders holding more than $348 million in tokenized assets, with distributed asset value up 69% over the past 30 days, according to RWA.xyz data. Its Nest vault products are already live, including a basis-focused vault with more than $26 million in assets

In November, Plume co-founder and CEO Chris Yin told Cointelegraph that the tokenized real-world asset market could grow as much as fivefold this year.

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He added that while most RWA value is currently concentrated in US Treasury bills, a maturing market and shifting interest rate environment are driving users to seek higher-yield opportunities elsewhere.

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