Circle’s IBM Patent Deal Brings Nearly 1,000 Blockchain Patents

Circle said its expanded portfolio of blockchain patents will strengthen the infrastructure supporting USDC, Circle Payments Network, Arc and agent financial tools.

USDC issuer Circle Internet Group has acquired assets from IBM’s blockchain patent portfolio in a bid to expand its intellectual property holdings.

The portfolio includes more than 680 patent families and nearly 1,000 issued patents worldwide covering core blockchain technology, banking, financial services, insurance, enterprise infrastructure, supply chain verification and secure cloud operations.

Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

IBM patent agreement

Circle said the acquisition makes it the largest holder of blockchain patents in the United States. According to the stablecoin issuer, the expanded patent portfolio will support products such as USDC, Circle Payments Network, Arc, as well as its line of on-chain products and agent financial tools. The two companies also plan to pursue other business opportunities together.

Speaking on the development, Sarah Wilson, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Circle, said:

“Intellectual property is critical to advancing our mission and expanding adoption of on-chain infrastructure. IBM has been a pioneer in technology innovation, and this acquisition expands Circle’s ability to advance the infrastructure that powers global internet-native finance.”

The latest development comes more than three years after the company joined the LOT Network, a global nonprofit organization that helps protect its members from patent lawsuits brought by patent assertion entities (PAEs). The main objective was to reduce legal risks while supporting the development of blockchain-based products and services.

Later that year, she received her first patent for parallel block processing, which allows multiple pieces of information to be processed simultaneously while retaining serial block validation.

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Other initiatives

Earlier this month, Circle received approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to roll out the nation’s first digital currency bank, NA, which will operate under the name Circle National Trust. The charter will enable the stablecoin issuer to provide cryptocurrency custody fiat services and is expected to ultimately manage USDC reserves under the supervision of the OCC. Over time, custody services may also become available to a limited group of institutional clients.

He also joined the Linux Foundation’s x402 Foundation as a core member, alongside other industry players such as Ripple, Coinbase, and Solana Foundation, among others. The initiative aims to support the development of an open standard for native payments on the Internet that allows AI agents, APIs and applications to transact over HTTP.

Separately, BNY Mellon has expanded its partnership with Circle by adding USDC to its digital asset custody platform. This integration allows institutional clients to store, transfer, mint and redeem the stablecoin while strengthening the bank’s role as the primary custodian of USDC reserves.