Circle Pulls $222 Million From Blackrock and A16z to Launch Arc Blockchain at $3B Valuation

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Circle Internet Group raised $222 million in a private presale of its ARC token, tied to a new stablecoin-native layer-one (L1) blockchain called Arc, at a fully diluted valuation of $3 billion. Circle Pulls $222 Million From Blackrock and A16z to Launch Arc Blockchain at $3B Valuation Key Takeaways - Circle raises $222 million in an ARC token presale at a $3 billion FDV, with A16z leading at $75 million. - Blackrock, Apollo, and ICE join the round, signaling TradFi’s deepening bet on stablecoin-native blockchain infrastructure. - Arc mainnet beta targets 2026, with a PoS transition deadline of May 8, 2028, or when investors trigger repayment rights. Circle Closes $222M Token Presale With a Dozen Institutional Backers at $3B FDV The company disclosed the raise on May 11, 2026, alongside its Q1 2026 earnings report, and CNBC was the first outlet to report it. Circle sold 740 million ARC tokens at $0.30 each in the presale, drawing participation from roughly one dozen institutional and crypto-native investors. Andreessen Horowitz committed $75 million as lead investor. Other participants included Blackrock, Apollo Funds, Intercontinental Exchange, Ark Invest, Bullish, Haun Ventures, Standard Chartered Ventures, SBI Group, Janus Henderson Investors, General Catalyst, Marshall Wace, and IDG Capital. Circle describes Arc as an “Economic Operating System” for the internet. The network is built to support stablecoins, tokenized assets, economic contracts, onchain markets, and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven payment activity. Unlike most blockchains, Arc uses USDC for transaction fees rather than a volatile native gas token, giving institutions predictable, dollar-denominated costs. ARC functions as the network’s coordination asset. It handles governance, validator security, network operations, and economic alignment across the protocol. The initial supply is set at 10 billion tokens, with roughly 25% allocated to Circle for validator operations and staking, 60% going to network participants and contributors, and 15% held in a long-term reserve. Investor terms include multi-year lock-ups of at least one year after Arc transitions to proof-of- stake ( PoS), with potential holds extending to four years. If Circle does not deliver the tokens or complete the PoS transition by May 8, 2028, investors hold repayment and contingency rights. Circle published the ARC Token white paper on May 11, 2026. The company says the Arc public testnet went live in October 2025, with more than 100 institutions participating, including Blackrock, Visa, and HSBC. CEO Jeremy Allaire told CNBC that blockchain infrastructure is becoming as foundational as mobile operating systems and cloud platforms, and that Circle is positioning itself as a broader internet platform company. He pointed to Arc’s role in supporting AI agents that handle payments, treasury management, and contracts in USDC. Arc supports sub-second deterministic finality, opt-in privacy controls designed for regulatory compliance, and full EVM compatibility. Circle says the mainnet beta is targeted for 2026, with a path toward a decentralized, community-governed proof-of- stake network. Circle’s Q1 2026 earnings showed revenue and reserve income of $694 million, up 20% year over year, though slightly below analyst estimates of $715 million. Adjusted EBITDA came in at $151 million, up 24% year over year. Net income was $55 million. USDC in circulation reached $77 billion, up 28% year over year. Onchain transaction volume hit $21.5 trillion in Q1, a 263% jump from the same period a year earlier. CRCL shares moved modestly higher in premarket trading following the release. Circle says this is the first time a publicly listed company has conducted a token presale in this type of compliant structure. The capital raise signals that large financial institutions are treating stablecoin-native blockchain infrastructure as a serious asset class, not a speculative side bet. The round closed quickly. Participation from exchanges, asset managers, banks, and venture firms in the same deal reflects growing institutional alignment around regulated onchain finance and the broader regulatory tailwinds from legislation such as the GENIUS and CLARITY Acts moving through Congress.

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