Comparison · 2026 edition
Agora (AUSD) vs Circle (USDC and EURC): stablecoin issuers compared 2026.
Agora (AUSD) and Circle (USDC and EURC) side by side in the Stablecoin Issuers Index 2026: scores, evidence, published facts and awards.
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Agora (AUSD) and Circle (USDC and EURC) side by side in the Stablecoin Issuers Index 2026: scores, evidence, published facts and awards.
In the Stablecoin Issuers Index, Circle (USDC and EURC) scores higher overall: 4.3 out of 5 (86 out of 100) against 3.3 (66), ranking 1 and 4 of 11. Circle (USDC and EURC) also scores higher in every segment.
Overall and segment scores out of 100, and the score out of 5.
| Score | Agora (AUSD) | Circle (USDC and EURC) |
|---|---|---|
| Score out of 5 | 3.3 | 4.3 |
| Score out of 100 | 66 | 86 |
| Overall rank | 4 of 11 | 1 of 11 |
| For payment and e-money firms (out of 100) | 65, rank 5 | 83, rank 1 |
| For exchanges and brokers (out of 100) | 68, rank 4 | 87, rank 1 |
| For corporate treasuries (out of 100) | 66, rank 5 | 87, rank 1 |
| Type | Dollar stablecoin issuer | Dollar and euro stablecoin issuer |
Each score with the evidence behind it.
| Criterion | Agora (AUSD) | Circle (USDC and EURC) |
|---|---|---|
| Reserves | 3/5 Monthly management reports on reserve holdings; custodians not named. | 5/5 Reserve holdings and mint and burn flows published weekly, with the BlackRock-managed reserve fund named. |
| Independent assurance | 4/5 Monthly attestations by Grant Thornton LLP. | 4/5 Monthly assurance by a Big Four firm, not named on the page, plus audited financial statements by Deloitte. |
| Regulatory standing | 3/5 Bermuda Class F licence; US charter at preliminary conditional approval only. | 5/5 Licences in the US, EU, UK, Singapore, Bermuda and Abu Dhabi with numbers published. |
| Redemption | 3/5 Direct minting and redemption by API; no timing or minimum. | 4/5 Direct institutional minting and redemption through Circle Mint; a five business day limit is published for EEA retail redemptions only. |
| Published fees | 3/5 No minting or redemption fees stated on the homepage rather than a fee page. | 2/5 Minting stated as free; redemption and on-chain sending fees sit in a fee schedule that could not be read. |
| Currencies and networks | 4/5 Ten networks and one currency. | 5/5 38 networks and two currencies published. |
Each criterion is scored 0 to 5 against the best published offer in the Stablecoin Issuers Index. 0 means not offered or not published. How it is scored
What each provider publishes on its own pages, read on 26 October 2026.
| Fact | Agora (AUSD) | Circle (USDC and EURC) |
|---|---|---|
| Reserves | Agora publishes "monthly management reports on AUSD reserves" on dollar and reserve asset holdings, from July 2024. Custodians not named on the pages read. | Transparency page: "USDC reserve holdings are fully disclosed on a weekly basis, along with associated mint/burn flows." Reserves split into bank deposits, deposits at systemically important institutions, overnight reverse Treasury repo and Treasuries under three months; Treasuries may be held in "the Circle Reserve Fund, a 2a-7 money market fund managed by BlackRock". |
| Independent assurance | "Monthly reports of Agora's reserves provided by third-party accounting firm, Grant Thornton LLP and prepared according to attestation standards established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants"; reports listed January to August 2026. | "A Big Four accounting firm provides monthly third-party assurance that the value of USDC reserves are greater than the amount of USDC in circulation", prepared under AICPA attestation standards. USDC page: "Deloitte & Touche LLP is Circle's independent auditor and has audited Circle's financials since fiscal year 2022." |
| Regulatory standing | "AUSD is issued by Agora Bermuda Limited which is regulated and licensed by the Bermuda Monetary Authority", holding "a Class F license to issue, sell or redeem virtual coins". Homepage: "Agora received preliminary conditional approval from the OCC." | Licences page: OCC national trust bank charter number 25361 (Circle National Trust); NYDFS limited purpose trust company; ACPR electronic money institution No. 17788 and AMF MiCA crypto-asset service provider authorisation No. E2026-005 (Circle Internet Financial Europe SAS); MAS Major Payment Institution No. PS20200630; FCA e-money No. 900480; Bermuda DAB licence No. 54786; ADGM FSRA permission 250035. Circle Internet Financial, LLC NMLS 1201441. |
| Redemption | "Programmatically mint, redeem, and transfer stablecoins" through Agora's API. No redemption time or minimum published. | USDC terms: Circle Mint account holders can "issue USDC for USD" and "redeem USDC for USD from Circle"; "Circle Mint is currently available only to institutions". MiCA redemption policy: EEA holders other than retail open a Circle Mint account; retail payout "should not take more than 5 business days". |
| Published fees | Homepage: "Move between AUSD and currencies with no minting or redemption fees." No fee page. | USDC terms: "Circle will not charge you any fees for tokenizing USD for USDC, or receiving USDC"; fees apply to sending USDC on chain from Circle Mint per the Circle Product Fee Schedule. Redemption is at $1 "less fees where applicable". The fee schedule page did not load when read. |
| Currencies and networks | Mainnet deployments: Arbitrum, Avalanche C-chain, Base, Ethereum, Immutable, Katana, Mantle, Monad, Polygon PoS and Solana. One currency: US dollar. | "USDC is natively supported on 38 blockchain networks as of September 16, 2026." Two currencies: USDC (US dollar) and EURC (euro). |
| Date read | 26 October 2026 | 26 October 2026 |
Not published or not stated by Agora (AUSD): reserves, redemption and published fees.
Not published or not stated by Circle (USDC and EURC): independent assurance.
Facts read on 26 October 2026 from: agora.finance, docs.agora.finance/developer/transparency, docs.agora.finance/developer/…; and circle.com/transparency, circle.com/usdc, circle.com/legal/usdc-terms, circle.com/legal/licenses, circle.com/legal/mica-redemption-policy, circle.com/pricing.
Awards follow from the published scores and cannot be bought.
No award in this index.
From each provider's strongest criteria and published terms.
Fintechs and platforms wanting fee-free minting and a share of reserve income.
Payment firms and exchanges needing the widest licensing and network coverage.
Tell us what you need and where you operate.