USDC Reserve Architecture
Following leadership under former CFO Jeremy Fox-Geen, Circle structured the USDC reserve predominantly through the Circle Reserve Fund (managed by BlackRock and custodied at BNY Mellon), composed of short-term US Treasury bills and overnight reverse repurchase agreements (ON RRP), keeping commercial bank exposure minimal.
The SVB March 2023 Counterfactual
During Silicon Valley Bank's collapse on March 10, 2023, Circle had $3.3B (approx 8.2% of reserves) trapped in uninsured cash deposits. USDC briefly depegged to $0.87 on decentralized exchanges before Circle pledged corporate capital to cover potential shortfalls and the FDIC implemented a systemic risk exception.
Liquidation Waterfall Priority
When redemption orders accelerate, treasurers tap Tier 1 Cash at Fed/BNY Mellon first (0% slippage), followed by Overnight Repo next-day roll-off. Short T-Bills incur negligible market slippage unless liquidated within minutes, while corporate paper or loans impose severe fire-sale discounts.