"Circle Internet Group raised $222 million in a private presale of its ARC token, tied to a new stablecoin-native layer-one (L1) blockchain called Arc, at a fully diluted valuation of $3 billion. WRITTEN BY Jamie RedmanPublished: May 11, 2026, 8:41 AM Circle raises $222 million in an ARC token presale at a $3 billion FDV, with A16z leading at $75 million. Blackrock, Apollo, and ICE join the round, signaling TradFi's deepening bet on stablecoin-native blockchain infrastructure."
"Arc mainnet beta targets 2026, with a PoS transition deadline of May 8, 2028, or when investors trigger repayment rights. The company disclosed the raise on May 11, 2026, alongside its Q1 2026 earnings report, and CNBC was the first outlet to report it. Circle sold 740 million ARC tokens at $0.30 each in the presale, drawing participation from roughly one dozen institutional and crypto-native investors."
"Circle describes Arc as an Economic Operating System for the internet. The network is built to support stablecoins, tokenized assets, economic contracts, onchain markets, and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven payment activity. Unlike most blockchains, Arc uses USDC for transaction fees rather than a volatile native gas token, giving institutions predictable, dollar-denominated costs."
"ARC functions as the network's coordination asset. It handles governance, validator security, network operations, and economic alignment across the protocol. The initial supply is set at 10 billion tokens, with roughly 25% allocated to Circle for validator operations and staking, 60% going to network participants an"
Circle Internet Group raised $222 million in a private presale of ARC tokens tied to Arc, a stablecoin-native layer-one blockchain. The presale valued the project at a $3 billion fully diluted valuation, with Andreessen Horowitz leading at $75 million. Blackrock, Apollo, and ICE joined the round alongside other institutional and crypto-native investors. Circle sold 740 million ARC tokens at $0.30 each. Arc mainnet beta is targeted for 2026, with a proof-of-stake transition deadline of May 8, 2028, or when investors trigger repayment rights. Arc is positioned as an Economic Operating System supporting stablecoins, tokenized assets, economic contracts, onchain markets, and AI-driven payment activity. Transaction fees use USDC instead of a volatile native gas token, and ARC serves as the coordination asset for governance, validator security, network operations, and economic alignment.
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