Circle disclosed that it has acquired IBM's blockchain patent portfolio, accumulated over more than a decade, encompassing over 680 patent families and nearly 1,000 granted patents. The transaction amount was not disclosed. Following the acquisition, Circle becomes the company with the largest number of blockchain patents in the United States.

Patents cover financial and enterprise scenarios

The company stated that these patents cover fundamental blockchain technology, as well as areas such as banking, financial services, insurance, enterprise infrastructure, supply chain verification, and secure cloud operations. According to previous statistics from patent analysis firm PatSnap, as of December 2025, IBM held approximately 790 US blockchain patents, ranking first among US companies.

Circle previously had a limited patent portfolio in this field. The report mentions that the company's first patent, related to parallel processing of blockchain data, was approved in December 2023. Following this acquisition, its patent portfolio quickly rose to the top in the United States.

Will be used for USDC and payment networks

The company disclosed that these intellectual property rights will be used to support its "Internet finance system" layout, covering USDC, Circle Payments Network, Arc, as well as a series of on-chain products and AI-driven financial tools.

Arc is a payment-oriented blockchain developed by Circle for institutional financial scenarios. The AI tools mentioned by the company refer to software systems that can autonomously execute financial transactions in certain processes.

• Number of patent families: Over 680
• Number of authorized patents: Nearly 1,000
• Transaction consideration: Undisclosed

Circle expands its intellectual property defenses

Sarah Wilson, Circle's Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary, stated that intellectual property is crucial for driving the adoption of on-chain infrastructure, and this acquisition will expand the company's ability to build global internet-native financial infrastructure.

The report also mentioned that Circle had previously joined the LOT Network, an organization that primarily helps its members reduce the risk of being sued by patent litigation entities. With its patent portfolio significantly increased, Circle's intellectual property defense capabilities have also strengthened.

IBM remains involved in stablecoin alliances

According to other reports, IBM is also one of the confirmed partners of Open Standard. The stablecoin OpenUSD, supported by the alliance, was launched on June 30 and has more than 140 backers, including Visa, Mastercard, Google, BlackRock, Stripe, and Coinbase.

Additional information:The report mentions that OpenUSD adopts a model that distributes reserve profits to partner distributors, which directly competes with Circle's existing stablecoin business revenue structure.