Circle, the company behind USDC, a digital dollar utilized by millions globally for payments, savings, and international transfers, has acquired IBM’s extensive blockchain patent library, a collection built over more than a decade. The deal, announced on July 27, transfers over 1,000 blockchain patents issued by IBM worldwide to Circle.
Patents grant holders exclusive legal rights over specific inventions. For instance, a patent on a method for processing transactions on a blockchain—a distributed digital ledger where cryptocurrency activities are permanently recorded and immutable—allows the holder to control its usage and terms. IBM had been accumulating such leverage since its significant push into enterprise blockchain in the mid-2010s.
By December 2025, patent analytics firm PatSnap had recognized IBM as holding 790 U.S. blockchain patents, more than any other American company, with Bank of America a distant second at approximately 200. Circle, which secured its inaugural patent in December 2023 for parallel blockchain data processing—a technique for simultaneously verifying multiple transaction groups—has now ascended to the top of U.S. rankings from a near-zero position.
“The portfolio comprises over 680 patent families and nearly 1,000 issued patents worldwide, spanning foundational blockchain technology, banking, financial services, insurance, enterprise infrastructure, supply chain verification, and secure cloud operations,” Circle stated in its official announcement.
Circle intends to integrate these patents across its entire operational framework. “The expanded IP position directly supports Circle’s foundation for building the internet financial system, including USDC, Circle Payments Network, Arc, and a growing suite of onchain products and agentic financial tools,” the company elaborated. Arc is Circle’s proprietary payment-focused blockchain designed for institutional finance, while agentic tools refer to AI-powered software capable of autonomously executing financial transactions without human intervention at each step.
“Intellectual property is critical to advancing our mission and expanding adoption of onchain infrastructure,” said Sarah Wilson, Circle’s General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. “IBM has been a pioneer in technological innovation, and this acquisition expands Circle’s ability to advance the infrastructure that powers global, internet-native finance.”
Prior to this acquisition, Circle had become a member of the LOT Network, a consortium that protects its members from lawsuits by patent trolls—entities that acquire patents solely to extract settlement fees from other companies without developing their own innovations. With nearly 1,000 patents now under its belt, Circle possesses sufficient intellectual property to pursue an offensive strategy if it chooses, though the company has not disclosed its intentions.
IBM is also a confirmed partner in Open Standard, the consortium behind Open USD, a stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the U.S. dollar. Open USD launched on June 30 with over 140 backers, including major players like Visa, Mastercard, Google, BlackRock, Stripe, and Coinbase. The stablecoin’s model distributes reserve income directly to its partner distributors, a strategy designed to potentially impact the revenue streams that Circle relies upon.
IBM divested its foundational blockchain intellectual property to Circle while simultaneously endorsing a stablecoin aimed at capturing market share from USDC. Circle’s shares (CRCL) saw a 2.57% increase on Monday following the announcement.
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