Circle raises $222 million from BlackRock and Wall Street giants for Arc blockchain

Blockchain

Circle raises $222 million from BlackRock and Wall Street giants for Arc blockchain

Circle Internet Group, the publicly listed issuer of the USDC stablecoin, pulled in $222 million through a presale of the native token for its new Arc blockchain, giving the network a fully diluted valuation of $3 billion, CNBC reported Monday.

Andreessen Horowitz led the round with a $75 million commitment. Other participants include BlackRock, Apollo Funds, Intercontinental Exchange, the owner of the New York Stock Exchange, Standard Chartered Ventures, Janus Henderson, ARK Invest, and about half a dozen more.

Circle is the first publicly listed company to conduct a token presale, an early sale of digital tokens before a blockchain goes live. CEO Jeremy Allaire said Arc represents Circles push beyond stablecoins into blockchain infrastructure and internet-scale financial software.

What Arc is and how it works

Arc Network is designed specifically for stablecoin transactions and offers features such as stablecoin gas payments and sub-second transaction finality. Its public testnet, launched last October, processed more than 150 million transactions within its first 90 days, with average settlement times of roughly half a second.

The stablecoin issuer plans to launch a native token for its Arc Network, according to its Q3 2025 earnings release. The company said the potential token could help encourage participation and align incentives among stakeholders as it expands its layer 1 blockchain ecosystem.

Circle is working with Fireblocks and members of its Alliance Program to expand institutional adoption and interoperability across the ecosystem.

Of Arcs initial supply of 10 billion tokens, 60% is earmarked for participants who build on, use, and contribute to the network. Circle retains 25%, which lets the company run validator infrastructure, earn staking income, and generate fee revenue, a new business line separate from reserve income that currently accounts for most of its top line. The remaining 15% goes to long-term reserves.