Circle has announced the acquisition of a portion of IBM’s blockchain patent portfolio, making it the largest holder of blockchain-related patents in the United States.
The acquired portfolio includes more than 680 patent families and nearly 1,000 patents registered worldwide. It covers core blockchain technologies, banking and financial services, insurance, enterprise infrastructure, supply chain verification systems, and secure cloud solutions.
The company plans to use the acquired technologies to further develop its own products, including the USDC stablecoin, the Circle Payments Network, the Arc platform, and AI-powered tools for automating financial operations.
The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.