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.