Circle Acquires 1,000 Blockchain Patents From IBM to Fuel Digital Asset Expansion
Circle, a digital financial services company, announced on Monday a deal to acquire fundamental assets from IBM’s blockchain patent portfolio, including nearly 1,000 patents across 680 patent families. This acquisition covers blockchain technology, banking, financial services, insurance, enterprise infrastructure, supply chain verification, and secure cloud operations.
This purchase represents about 70% of IBM’s blockchain patent holdings, as IBM held approximately 1,450 blockchain-related patents in earlier years. The move positions Circle as one of the top U.S. holders of blockchain patents.
Circle stated that the intellectual property is critical for expanding onchain infrastructure adoption, supporting its internet financial system which includes USDC (a major stablecoin), Circle Payments, Arc, and onchain agentic opportunities.
‘Intellectual property is critical to advancing our mission and expanding adoption of onchain infrastructure. 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,’ said Sarah Wilson, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Circle.
Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. However, both companies indicated they are exploring additional commercial opportunities, hinting at possible further acquisitions related to IBM’s patent business.