Circle Raises $222 Million in Arc Token Presale at $3 Billion Valuation

Circle raised $222 million in the presale of its Arc token, valuing the project at a fully diluted network valuation of $3 billion. Andreessen Horowitz led the presale with a $75 million investment. Investors in the Arc token presale include 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.

The company simultaneously reported first-quarter results that beat earnings expectations but missed on revenue. 17. Revenue reached $694 million, short of the $715 million forecast, even as it rose 20% from the year-earlier quarter.

Circle's Q1 2026 adjusted EBITDA was $151 million, reflecting 24% growth from the year-earlier quarter. 5 trillion, jumping over 260% from the year-earlier period. USDC in circulation increased 28% to $77 billion.

Arc began testing in October 2025. Circle published the Arc whitepaper on May 11, 2026. The blockchain is designed for institutional finance, with a focus on stablecoin-based capital markets, tokenized assets, cross-border settlement and on-chain activity.

Circle is a 25% stakeholder in Arc's initial supply of 10 billion tokens. Sixty percent of those tokens will go to participants who build on, use and contribute to the Arc network. Fifteen percent will be allocated to a long-term reserve.

Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Circle, described the project in broad terms. "[Blockchain] infrastructure is becoming as important as mobile operating systems or cloud platforms," Allaire said. "We want to build an operating system that has many, many stakeholders in it ...

Allaire positioned the move as an evolution for the company. "We're becoming a broader internet platform company. We're entering the operating system business and we're doing it by building this multi-stakeholder distributed model with a token, with a distributed network.

And we're also getting into the apps business," he said. The CEO highlighted a shift toward machine-operated economic activity. Allaire said the economy is becoming increasingly machine-operated, with AI agents handling more of the operational and contractual work currently managed by humans.

"We're entering this era where software machines will power the economic system. Software will do most of the work — that is what AI agents represent," he said. A16z crypto, which participated in the presale, framed Arc as a response to limitations in existing networks.

"While USDC has become the trusted digital dollar for banks, corporations, and financial institutions seeking the speed of crypto without its volatility, there remains a problem. The internet infrastructure which USDC runs on today wasn't built with big institutions in mind. It was built for individuals and crypto enthusiasts.

That's where Arc comes in," a16z crypto wrote. As a 25% stakeholder, Circle can participate in operating validator infrastructure on Arc, generating new fee revenue and earning staking income. Allaire said investors should follow transactions, asset issuance and success on the network driven by the developer community.

The initiative marks the first time a publicly listed company has conducted a token presale. m. ET on May 11, 2026.