Circle has 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 on Monday.
The round included investment 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 published the Arc whitepaper on Monday, outlining 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 being positioned as a blockchain optimized for stablecoin-based capital markets and regulated financial activity, which includes tokenized assets, cross-border settlement and onchain finance.
Unlike USDC, which functions as a dollar-pegged payment token, ARC appears intended to play a role closer to ether on Ethereum or SOL on Solana — helping coordinate the network’s economic and security model.
Circle did not immediately respond to CoinDesk’s request for comment.
