Circle Buys Nearly 1,000 Blockchain Patents From IBM

Circle acquired a blockchain intellectual-property portfolio from IBM — more than 680 patent families and nearly 1,000 issued patents worldwide. The deal makes the USDC issuer the largest holder of blockchain patents in the United States, CoinDesk reports.

• The portfolio spans blockchain, banking and financial services, insurance, enterprise infrastructure, supply-chain verification, and cloud security.
• Circle plans to use the patents to support USDC, the Circle Payments Network, its Arc blockchain, and a lineup of onchain financial tools for AI agents.
• Financial terms of the deal weren't disclosed; the company also isn't ruling out future partnerships with IBM.

Intellectual property is critical to advancing our mission and expanding adoption of onchain infrastructure.

The patent portfolio strengthens Circle's position at a moment when the company faces growing competition in the stablecoin market — we've already covered how Circle's own former partners rallied around the rival Open USD.

*This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.*