USDC issuer Circle Internet Group has acquired assets from IBM’s blockchain patent portfolio in a bid to expand its intellectual property holdings.
The portfolio includes more than 680 patent families and nearly 1,000 issued patents worldwide covering core blockchain technology, banking, financial services, insurance, enterprise infrastructure, supply chain verification, and secure cloud operations.
The financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
IBM Patent Deal
Circle said the acquisition makes it the largest holder of blockchain patents in the United States. According to the stablecoin issuer, the expanded patent portfolio will support products including USDC, Circle Payments Network, Arc, as well as its lineup of on-chain products and agentic financial tools. The two companies also plan to pursue further business opportunities together.
Weighing in on the development, Circle’s General Counsel and Corporate Secretary Sarah Wilson said,
“Intellectual property is critical to advancing our mission and expanding adoption of on-chain infrastructure. IBM has been a pioneer in technological innovation, and this acquisition expands Circle’s ability to advance the infrastructure that powers global, internet-native finance.”
The latest development comes more than three years after the company joined the LOT Network, a global nonprofit that helps protect members from patent lawsuits brought by Patent Assertion Entities (PAEs). The main objective was to lower legal risks while supporting the development of blockchain-based products and services.
Later that year, it secured its first patent for Parallel Block Processing, which enables multiple pieces of information to be processed simultaneously while maintaining the serial validation of blocks.
Other Initiatives
Earlier this month, Circle received approval from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to roll out First National Digital Currency Bank, N.A., which will operate as Circle National Trust. The charter will allow the stablecoin issuer to provide fiduciary crypto custody services and is expected to eventually manage USDC reserves under OCC supervision. Over time, custody services may also become available to a limited group of institutional clients.
It also joined the Linux Foundation’s x402 Foundation as a premier member, along with other industry players such as Ripple, Coinbase, and Solana Foundation, among others. The initiative aims to support the development of an open standard for internet-native payments that enables AI agents, APIs, and applications to transact over HTTP.
Separately, BNY Mellon expanded its partnership with Circle by adding USDC to its Digital Asset Custody platform. This integration lets institutional clients store, transfer, mint, and redeem the stablecoin while strengthening the bank’s role as the primary custodian of USDC reserves.
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