Circle raises $222M in Arc token presale at $3B FDV from a16z crypto, BlackRock and others; Q1 revenue up 20%

Circle Internet Group (CRCL) raised $222 million for Arc, its new institutional Layer 1 blockchain, giving the network a fully diluted valuation of $3 billion and making Circle the first publicly listed company to conduct a token presale.

a16z crypto led the round with a $75 million commitment, according to CNBC. BlackRock, Apollo Funds, Intercontinental Exchange, SBI Group, Janus Henderson Investors, Standard Chartered Ventures, General Catalyst, Marshall Wace, ARK Invest, IDG Capital, Haun Ventures, and Bullish completed a roughly dozen-strong investor syndicate.

The Arc announcement arrived alongside Circle's first quarter 2026 results. Per the update, total revenue and reserve income reached $694 million, up 20% year-over-year, as USDC in circulation grew 28% to $77 billion at quarter's end.

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Onchain USDC transaction volume hit $21.5 trillion for the quarter, a 263% jump from the prior year, while adjusted EBITDA rose 24% to $151 million. Net income from continuing operations fell 15% to $55 million, as operating expenses surged 76% — primarily from post-IPO stock-based compensation and related payroll taxes.

Circle's Payments Network generated $8.3 billion in annualized transaction volume as of March 31.

Circle’s Arc blockchain

Arc is a public blockchain built for institutional finance, using USDC as its native gas token, with sub-second finality, opt-in privacy, and EVM compatibility.

If Arc gains traction, it could allow Circle to own more of the infrastructure USDC currently depends on. As of today, USDC relies heavily on networks such as Ethereum and Solana for settlement and on distribution partners such as Coinbase, a structural exposure CEO Jeremy Allaire has signaled he wants to reduce.

Of Arc's 10 billion token supply, 60% flows to participants who build on, use, and contribute to the network. Circle holds 25%, enabling it to operate validator infrastructure and earn staking income. The remaining 15% sits in long-term reserve.

Circle has been building toward this moment since at least August 2025, when The Block reported plans for an EVM-compatible Layer 1 with USDC as native gas.

The Arc public testnet launched in October 2025 with more than 100 institutional participants, including BlackRock, Visa, Goldman Sachs, Anthropic, and AWS.

By February 2026, the testnet had processed more than 166 million transactions at half-second finality and near-perfect uptime. In April, Circle confirmed Arc will be quantum-resistant at mainnet launch, introducing a post-quantum signature scheme for optional quantum-resistant wallets — calling it a "baseline requirement" for institutional adoption.

The presale is arguably as much about defense as it is about growth.

With stablecoin legislation advancing — the GENIUS Act is already signed into law, and a sweeping crypto bill is due for an initial vote by the Senate Banking Committee this week — some investors fear banks and fintechs could launch competing dollar tokens, removing the need for a third-party issuer like Circle. Owning Arc's infrastructure could reduce that vulnerability.

Agent stack

Circle simultaneously launched Circle Agent Stack — a suite of tools for autonomous AI agents, including Circle CLI, Agent Wallets, Agent Marketplace, and Nanopayments powered by Circle Gateway, which enables gas-free USDC transfers as small as $0.000001.

"The next phase of the global economy will be increasingly AI and agent-driven," Allaire said.

Circle shares were trading at $113.67, up 0.4%, on Monday morning during pre-market hours, The Block’s CRCL page shows.