Circle Internet Group has closed a token pre-sale for its new Layer-1 blockchain Arc, raising USD 222 million in the process. Andreessen Horowitz (a16z crypto) led the round and contributed USD 75 million on its own. In addition, BlackRock, Apollo Funds and other institutional names participated.
Circle (NYSE: CRCL) disclosed the round on 11 May 2026 alongside its Q1 results. In total, the company placed 740 million ARC tokens at USD 0.30 each. As a result, the market values the network at a fully diluted valuation of USD 3 billion. The tokens are also subject to vesting and lock-up rules and remain non-tradable on public markets until mainnet launch. According to the company, Circle is therefore the first listed company to run a pre-sale for blockchain infrastructure.
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Investor list runs from a16z to Standard Chartered
The investor roster spans crypto specialists and traditional Wall Street names alike. Alongside a16z crypto, BlackRock and Apollo Funds, the participants include Intercontinental Exchange (parent of the NYSE), the SBI Group, Janus Henderson, Standard Chartered Ventures, ARK Invest, General Catalyst, Marshall Wace, Bullish, IDG Capital and Haun Ventures. As a result, asset managers, exchange operators and banks sit at the same table within a single capital structure.
CNBC singled out BlackRock and Apollo in its coverage. However, the largest single backer remains a16z crypto with USD 75 million. Moreover, the mix of TradFi names and established crypto investors suggests that Circle deliberately wants to build a bridge between traditional finance and on-chain infrastructure.
The ARC token has a total supply of 10 billion units. Of that, 25% goes to Circle itself, 60% to developers, users and network participants, and 15% to ecosystem funding. The distribution therefore follows the pattern of current Layer-1 projects, but weights the ecosystem share notably higher than the insider allocation.
Arc as a Layer-1 for stablecoin settlement
Arc is an open-source Layer-1 blockchain that Circle has built specifically for stablecoin payments and institutional applications. The Malachite consensus engine comes from Informal Systems and delivers secure finality in under a second. With 100 validators and 1 MB blocks, Circle measures finality at roughly 780 milliseconds. As a result, Arc positions itself on speed in the range of Solana and well above classic EVM networks.
A central point in the design concerns the gas currency. Transaction fees are paid in USDC, not in a volatile native token. Consequently, institutional users get a predictable, dollar-denominated cost structure. At the same time, Arc remains EVM-compatible, so developers can continue using existing tools such as Solidity, Foundry and Hardhat without changes.
In addition, a built-in foreign exchange system called StableFX rounds out the platform. It is a request-for-quote process for 24/7 settlement between different stablecoins on a payment-versus-payment basis. Arc also integrates Circle's existing products USDC, EURC, USYC, the Circle Payments Network and the Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP). On top of that, there is a privacy feature with selectively shielded balances that remains auditable for regulators.
From stablecoin issuer to infrastructure provider
With Arc, Circle is making a strategic shift. Until now, the company earned mainly from interest income on the reserves behind USDC. Going forward, however, Circle wants to occupy the layer on which tokenised assets are traded. Allaire accordingly described Arc on the earnings call as the economic operating system for payment providers, token issuers and capital markets participants.
BlackRock's commitment also fits an existing pattern. In 2024, the world's largest asset manager launched the BUIDL fund for tokenised US Treasuries on Ethereum. A stake in Arc therefore extends that commitment to a settlement layer that aligns with the firm's own tokenisation plans. Apollo, for its part, ranks among the largest private equity houses worldwide and is likewise working on tokenised credit products that require an institutionally suitable chain.
USDC also forms the economic foundation of this strategy. The stablecoin grew 72% in 2025 to USD 75.3 billion in circulation, expanding faster than market leader USDT from Tether for the second year in a row. Currently, USDC supply stands at around USD 77.0 billion. In addition, its share of total stablecoin transaction volume climbed from 39% to 63%. Circle is also the first global stablecoin issuer with MiCA compliance in the EU.
Competition for the institutional settlement layer
Arc is entering an increasingly crowded field. Among Layer-1 networks for institutions, Circle competes with Ethereum, Solana and Coinbase's Layer-2 solution Base, for example. In the stablecoin segment, Stripe's Tempo, Tether's Plasma and Stable are also positioning themselves as alternative settlement layers. Each of these providers is therefore trying to capture a part of the value chain that today runs primarily on Ethereum.
The Arc public testnet went live back in October 2025. More than 100 firms from the financial and corporate sector are taking part. Participants include Goldman Sachs, BNY, HSBC, State Street, Mastercard, Deutsche Bank and Visa, for example. As a result, the list covers nearly the entire spectrum of global payment and custody infrastructure. For the adoption of a new chain, this backing from traditional banks is consequently a head start that is hard to overstate.
Circle's market capitalisation currently stands at around USD 28.1 billion, with the stock trading at USD 113.67 on the day of the announcement. In Q1 2026, the company beat earnings expectations but missed consensus on revenue. The Arc mainnet launch is scheduled for 2026; citing Circle's own statements, CNBC also points to the summer as the likely window.
