The USDC stablecoin issuer continues to expand beyond the payments business. Circle announced it had raised $222 million in a closed sale of ARC tokens, and the valuation of the company’s new blockchain network reached $3 billion.
The deal coincided with the release of the quarterly report. Against the backdrop of growing USDC turnover, Circle’s revenue continued to increase, although net profit declined due to higher expenses after the IPO.
a16z and BlackRock Back ARC Placement
The round was led by the a16z Crypto fund. BlackRock, Apollo Funds, ARK Invest, Bullish, General Catalyst, Haun Ventures, ICE, SBI Group, and Standard Chartered Ventures also participated in the placement.
Circle will sell 740 million ARC tokens at a price of $0.30 per coin. The deal is structured as a private placement and does not require registration under U.S. securities law.
For the market, this is one of the largest infrastructure rounds in recent months. Investors are betting not only on USDC but also on the future ecosystem around the Arc network.
Circle Seeks to Move Beyond Stablecoins
In recent years, Circle’s business has mainly been associated with USDC. Now the company is trying to take a broader position in digital finance infrastructure.
The Arc network is expected to become a foundational layer for settlements in stablecoins, tokenized assets, and programmable financial services.
The company first introduced Arc in the summer of 2025 as its own layer-1 blockchain focused on financial applications and the institutional sector.
ARC Will Become the Foundation of ‘Economic OS’
In the published whitepaper, Circle calls Arc an ‘Economic OS’—an infrastructure for digital settlements and tokenized markets.
The ARC token will be used in several areas at once: network governance, security, staking, and coordinating validator operations.
The model looks like an attempt to combine the functions of a payment network and infrastructure for financial applications within a single ecosystem.
Circle Changes Network Architecture
Initially, Arc will use a permissioned validator model with a limited set of participants.
Later, the company plans a gradual transition to proof-of-stake. This should make the network more open and bring it closer to classic public blockchains.
This approach appears to be a compromise between institutional requirements and the idea of decentralization. Circle is trying to maintain control at an early stage while simultaneously preparing the network for broader use.
Most Tokens Will Go to the Ecosystem
The total ARC supply is set at 10 billion tokens.
About 60% of the supply is allocated for ecosystem development, grants, developer incentives, and network growth. Another 25% is reserved by Circle for infrastructure development, staking, and governance participation.
The remaining 15% will be kept in reserve by the company to support the network and operate in stressful market conditions.
USDC Continues to Grow
Circle’s financial report showed that the main source of the company’s growth remains tied to USDC.
The stablecoin’s circulating supply grew by about 28% year-over-year and reached $77 billion. USDC’s on-chain turnover jumped more than 260% to $21.5 trillion.
This highlights the scale of stablecoin use in global settlements, especially in the segment of international transfers and DeFi infrastructure.
Revenue Rises, Profit Falls
Total revenue and reserve income increased by about 20% to $694 million.
At the same time, net profit decreased by about 15% and amounted to $55 million. The reason was a sharp rise in operating expenses after the company went public.
Circle’s expenses rose by about 76% to $242 million. The company attributes this to employee compensation, taxes, and infrastructure investments.
Market Responds Positively to Report
Despite the decline in net profit, investors responded positively to the results.
Adjusted EBITDA grew by about 24% to $151 million, and Circle’s shares gained about 3% in premarket trading.
Since the beginning of the year, the company’s stock has risen by more than 40%. The market is betting on the continued expansion of USDC’s role and Circle’s infrastructure services.
Circle Increases Competition for Stablecoin Infrastructure
The launch of Arc shows that the battle in the stablecoin sector goes beyond simply issuing digital dollars.
Companies are beginning to compete for settlement infrastructure, tokenized assets, and next-generation financial applications.
Circle is trying to position itself between traditional finance and the blockchain ecosystem, especially amid growing interest from banks and institutions in tokenization.
What’s Next?
The main question now is whether Arc can attract enough developers and liquidity.
Circle already has one of the largest stablecoins on the market, but competition in the infrastructure segment is rapidly intensifying. Ethereum, Solana, Canton, and other networks are also vying for the role of the foundational layer for tokenized finance.
If Arc can leverage the USDC ecosystem as a starting advantage, Circle will gain a much broader role in the digital financial system than just being a stablecoin issuer.
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