- Circle sold 740 million ARC tokens at $0.30 each in a private placement, valuing its upcoming Arc blockchain at $3 billion.
- The funding round was led by a16z crypto with participation from BlackRock, Apollo Funds, and ARK Invest.
- The announcement coincided with Circle’s Q1 2026 results, showing USDC circulation hit $77 billion while net income dipped due to post-IPO costs.
Circle Internet Group, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, has successfully raised $222 million through a private placement of its native ARC token. The fundraising, disclosed alongside the company’s first-quarter 2026 financial results, values the Arc blockchain network at a fully diluted valuation of $3 billion. The private sale involved the disposal of 740 million ARC tokens at a price of $0.30 per unit, marking a significant milestone as Circle transitions from a stablecoin issuer into a comprehensive blockchain infrastructure provider.
The investment round was led by a16z crypto, which committed $75 million, and was supported by a heavy-hitting consortium of traditional and crypto-native firms. Participants included BlackRock, Apollo Funds, ARK Invest, the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), and Bullish. The Arc network is designed as a Layer-1 blockchain tailored for institutional finance, utilizing USDC as its native gas token and featuring sub-second finality. Unlike retail-focused chains, Arc emphasizes opt-in privacy and compliance, aiming to serve as a settlement layer for tokenized assets and programmable financial markets.
“With the ARC token presale, momentum behind the Arc network, and the launch of our Agent Stack, we are building trusted infrastructure for AI-native economic activity and a more programmable internet financial system,” said Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Circle, in a statement accompanying the company’s Q1 results. The company also published the Arc whitepaper, describing ARC as a native coordination asset intended to support governance, security, and network operations. The token supply is fixed at 10 billion, with 60% earmarked for ecosystem growth and developers.
Circle’s financial performance for the quarter remained robust despite a 15% decrease in net income to $55 million, largely attributed to a 76% surge in operating expenses following its public listing on the NYSE. Total revenue and reserve income rose 20% to $694 million, driven by a 28% year-over-year increase in USDC circulation. Transaction volume for the stablecoin saw a massive 263% jump, reaching $21.5 trillion for the quarter, underscoring the growing demand for digital dollar liquidity across global markets.
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