Circle Internet Group agreed to sell 740 million ARC tokens in a private placement led by a16z Crypto, raising $222 million, valuing the Arc blockchain network at $3 billion on a fully diluted basis.
The USDC stablecoin issuer, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, disclosed the token presale on Monday and simultaneously released its first-quarter 2026 financial results, showing increased revenue and reserve income, but a decline in net profit.
This funding round was led by a16z Crypto, with participation from 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 signed a token purchase agreement on Friday, agreeing to sell ARC tokens at $0.30 per token, with this private placement exempt from registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933.
This sale marks a significant step in Circle’s effort to expand from a stablecoin issuer to a blockchain infrastructure provider. The company aims to position Arc as the settlement layer for stablecoin finance, tokenized assets, and programmable financial markets.
Circle launched Arc in August 2025 as an open, layer-one blockchain focused on stablecoin finance. The company also released a whitepaper on Monday, describing ARC as a "native coordinating asset" designed to support the system's governance, security, and network operations.
The ARC token powers Circle's "economic operating system" blockchain.
Circle's Arc whitepaper describes ARC as the native token of its first-layer "economic operating system" blockchain, designed for building financial and tokenization markets based on stablecoins.
This network employs a hybrid consensus mechanism combining approved validators and is planned to gradually transition from the Proof of Authority (PoA) consensus model to Proof of Stake (PoS).
The five interconnected features of ARC. Source: ARC
Circle stated that the initial total supply of ARC is fixed at 10 billion tokens, allocated across three categories: approximately 60% for the ecosystem, including developers, grants, and network growth; and 25% reserved for Circle to support development, staking, and governance participation.
The company stated that the remaining 15% will be held as a long-term reserve to provide flexibility and stability in the event of market stress or future network demand.
USDC growth offsets rising costs, Circle reports revenue recovery in Q1
Circle's first-quarter financial performance was primarily driven by continued growth in USDC circulation and transaction activity.
As of the end of the quarter, circulating USDC increased 28% year-over-year to $77 billion, and on-chain transaction volume surged 263% to $21.5 trillion. Total revenue and reserve income (including USDC reserve earnings and other business line revenues) grew 20% to $694 million.
Source: Circle
Net profit decreased by 15% to $55 million due to rising costs outpacing revenue growth. Operating expenses increased by 76% to $242 million, primarily driven by post-IPO equity compensation and related payroll taxes, as the company continued to increase investments in products, distribution, and infrastructure.
Nevertheless, Circle's underlying business performance improved, with adjusted EBITDA increasing 24% to $151 million.
Circle (CRCL) stock price year-to-date chart. Source: Yahoo Finance
According to Yahoo Finance, Circle (CRCL) stock rose approximately 3% in pre-market trading to $116.70, continuing its recent upward momentum. Over the past month, the stock has gained approximately 12.2%, and year-to-date, it has surged more than 40%.