Circle raised $222 million in a presale of the ARC token tied to its new Arc blockchain network in a deal that values the project at $3 billion, according to a CNBC report published Monday.
The round included investments from a mix of Wall Street heavyweights and crypto-native firms, including BlackRock, Apollo Funds, a16z crypto, ARK Invest, Bullish, Haun Ventures, Intercontinental Exchange and Standard Chartered Ventures.
The fundraising marks Circle’s most ambitious expansion beyond USDC and payments infrastructure, pushing the stablecoin issuer deeper into the race to build blockchain rails for institutional finance.
Circle also released the Arc whitepaper on Monday, describing ARC as a “native coordination asset” designed to support governance, validator security, and network operations across the chain.
Arc, which began testing in October, is positioned as a blockchain optimized for stablecoin-based capital markets and regulated financial activity, which includes tokenized assets, cross-border settlement and on-chain finance.
Unlike USDC, which functions as a dollar-pegged payment token, ARC appears intended to play a role more akin to ether on Ethereum or SOL on Solana, helping to coordinate the network’s economic and security model.
Circle did not immediately respond to CoinDesk’s request for comment.
