- Circle has raised $222M through a token presale for Arc.
- a16z crypto led the round with $75M, with BlackRock, Apollo, and Standard Chartered Ventures
- Circle is the first publicly listed company to conduct a token presale before a blockchain launch
Circle has raised $222 million through a token presale for Arc, a new blockchain project, as the company seeks to expand beyond its main USDC stablecoin business, CNBC reports. The token sale values Arc at $3 billion, the same report adds.
a16z crypto led the round with a $75 million investment. BlackRock, Apollo Funds, Intercontinental Exchange, SBI Group, Standard Chartered Ventures, General Catalyst, ARK Invest, Haun Ventures, and Bullish also participated.
The Boston-based company, founded in 2013 by Jeremy Allaire and Sean Neville, is best known for USDC, one of the world’s largest stablecoins, which currently runs on blockchains including Ethereum and Solana. With Arc, it is building its own blockchain infrastructure rather than depending on third-party networks.
Arc is designed for banks, asset managers, and payment companies that want to move money, settle transactions, and manage financial contracts on blockchain rails — but within a governed, institutional-grade environment. The startup provides large financial firms with a shared infrastructure layer they can help run and govern, rather than relying on public blockchains they do not control.
Circle will hold 25% of Arc’s initial 10 billion tokens, says CNBC. This could help the company earn fees and staking income by helping run the network. Another 60% of the tokens will go to people and companies that build on or use Arc, while 15% will be reserved.
According to the report, Circle is the first publicly listed company to conduct a token presale before launching a blockchain project. Token sales are sometimes compared with IPOs because they help projects raise money and create a tradable financial interest.
