Circle Internet Group has agreed to sell 740 million ARC tokens for $222 million in a private placement led by a16z crypto, giving the Arc blockchain network a fully diluted valuation of $3 billion.
The New York Stock Exchange-listed issuer of the USDC stablecoin disclosed the token presale Monday alongside its first-quarter 2026 results. The round was backed by a consortium including BlackRock, Apollo Funds, ARK Invest, Bullish, General Catalyst, Haun Ventures, Intercontinental Exchange, IDG Capital, Janus Henderson Investors, Marshall Wace, SBI Group and Standard Chartered Ventures.
Circle entered into the token purchase agreements on Friday, agreeing to sell the ARC tokens at $0.30 each in a private placement exempt from registration under the US Securities Act of 1933.
The sale marks a major step in Circle’s effort to expand beyond stablecoin issuance into blockchain infrastructure. The company aims to build Arc into a settlement layer for stablecoin finance, tokenized assets and programmable financial markets.
Circle first introduced Arc in August 2025 as an open layer-1 blockchain focused on stablecoin finance. It published a whitepaper on Monday describing ARC as a “native coordination asset” designed to support governance, security and network operations.
ARC Token Powers Circle’s “Economic OS” Blockchain
Circle’s Arc whitepaper describes ARC as the native token of its layer-1 “Economic OS” blockchain built for stablecoin-based finance and tokenized markets. The network uses a hybrid consensus approach, combining permissioned validators with a planned shift toward proof-of-stake (PoS).
Circle said ARC has a fixed initial supply of 10 billion tokens allocated across three buckets: 60% to the ecosystem for developers, grants and network growth; 25% reserved for Circle to support development, staking and governance; and 15% set aside as a long-term reserve.
Circle’s Q1 Revenue Rises as USDC Growth Offsets Higher Costs
Circle’s financial performance in the first quarter was driven primarily by continued growth in USDC circulation and transaction activity. USDC in circulation rose 28% year over year to $77.0 billion at quarter end, while onchain transaction volume surged 263% to $21.5 trillion. Total revenue and reserve income rose 20% to $694 million.
Net income fell 15% to $55 million, as higher costs outweighed revenue growth. Operating expenses rose 76% to $242 million, driven mainly by post-IPO stock-based compensation and related payroll taxes, along with continued investment in product, distribution and infrastructure. Adjusted EBITDA rose 24% to $151 million.
Circle (CRCL) shares were up around 3% in premarket trading to $116.7. The stock is up around 12.2% over the past month and more than 40% year to date.