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Circle buys nearly 1,000 IBM blockchain patents for USDC banking links
Circle said the IBM portfolio includes more than 680 patent families and will back USDC, Circle Payments Network, and compliance and settlement tooling tied to banks.
Circle said it has acquired nearly 1,000 IBM blockchain patents as it expands the infrastructure connecting USD Coin, or USDC, with banks and payment networks. In a July 27 statement, the company said the portfolio covers more than 680 patent families across blockchain technology, banking and financial services, insurance, enterprise infrastructure, supply-chain verification, and secure cloud operations.
Circle said the deal makes it the leading holder of blockchain patents in the United States, and that the patents will support USDC, the Circle Payments Network, its Arc blockchain, and a growing suite of onchain and agentic financial tools. Circle also said it and IBM plan to explore additional commercial opportunities.
The acquisition also positions Circle for what it described as the shift of stablecoins beyond crypto trading into settlement, treasury operations, and mainstream payments. CryptoSlate reported that IBM had spent years patenting ways to connect blockchain systems with conventional financial networks.
CryptoSlate highlighted examples of active IBM patents that Circle expects to draw on, including one for a “blockchain settlement network” that links an on-chain transfer with off-chain settlement monitoring, and another for a “blockchain compliance verification network” covering AML, KYC, sanctions compliance, and ISO 20022 payment messaging. The material also noted that some of these claims are narrower than general stablecoin transfers, but could apply to systems combining blockchain liquidity with existing payment rails.