Circle secures major funding for ARC blockchain project

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Olga Shendetskaya

11.05.2026

Circle secures major funding for ARC blockchain project — Circle raises $222 million for Arc token

Circle has moved further beyond its USDC stablecoin business with a major fundraising round for its new blockchain network, Arc. The company sold $222 million worth of ARC tokens in a presale that valued the network at about $3 billion.

Highlights

Circle sold $222 million worth of ARC tokens.
The Arc blockchain was valued at about $3 billion.
Investors included BlackRock, Apollo, Bullish, ICE, a16z crypto and Standard Chartered Ventures.
ARC is designed to support governance, validator security and network operations.

Major investors back Arc

According to CNBC, Circle, the issuer of USDC, raised $222 million through the sale of ARC, the native token tied to its new Arc blockchain. The round valued the network at roughly $3 billion and drew backing from some of the largest names in finance and crypto.

Investors included BlackRock, Apollo, a16z crypto, Bullish, Intercontinental Exchange and Standard Chartered Ventures. Their participation signals that large financial firms are increasingly looking beyond stablecoins themselves and toward the blockchain infrastructure that could support institutional financial activity.

For Circle, Arc marks a broader shift in strategy. The company is best known for USDC, a dollar-backed stablecoin used in crypto trading, payments and DeFi. Arc gives Circle a chance to build not only the payment asset, but also the network where stablecoin-based payments, tokenized assets and institutional settlement can take place.

What ARC is designed to do

Circle also published a technical document for Arc, describing ARC as the network’s native coordination asset. The token is expected to support governance, validator security and operational activity across the blockchain.

That makes ARC different from USDC. USDC is designed to track the value of the U.S. dollar and function as a payment token. ARC appears closer in role to assets such as ETH on Ethereum or SOL on Solana, helping coordinate the economics and security of the network.

Arc is being positioned as a blockchain built for stablecoin-based capital markets and regulated financial activity. Its intended use cases include tokenized assets, cross-border payments, on-chain financing and institutional settlement. Testing for the network began in October, and the project has already attracted attention from financial and technology firms exploring blockchain-based market infrastructure.

Circle expands beyond stablecoins

The successful raise reflects Circle’s ambition to build a broader blockchain ecosystem optimized for institutional use. By launching a dedicated network with its own native token, the company is moving deeper into the infrastructure layer of digital finance.

The involvement of major traditional investors signals increasing confidence in regulated blockchain solutions for capital markets.

As the tokenization of real-world assets continues to grow, projects like Arc could play a central role in bridging traditional finance with blockchain technology.

We also reported Circle launches USDC and CCTP on Injective blockchain.

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