Circle Corporation has officially completed the acquisition of a portfolio of almost a thousand blockchain patents from IBM, making it the largest holder of such intellectual property in the United States. The deal, announced on July 27, covers key technology areas, including financial services, enterprise infrastructure, insurance, and secure cloud computing. The management of the USDC stablecoin issuer positions this step as a fundamental strengthening of the technological base for the development of the Circle Payments Network, the Arc blockchain and innovative financial instruments designed for autonomous AI agents. As the company seeks to diversify its assets, the acquisition is seen as an important element of a long-term strategy to ensure technological sovereignty in the decentralized finance sector.

Fortune analysts express concern that Circle's large-scale patent portfolio could be used as a lever of pressure on competitors and new startups. Finance Editor Jeff John Roberts notes the potential for demanding royalties or creating legal barriers in negotiations with traditional banking structures. An additional threat to Circle's business model is the launch of the OUSD stablecoin by the Open Standard consortium, which includes Visa, BlackRock and Stripe. Since the new initiative involves returning the bulk of income from reserves to participants, it directly competes with the traditional Circle monetization model, where interest on USDC reserves remains a key source of revenue.

Despite the growing competitive environment, Circle's financial performance for 2025 demonstrates a steady increase in operational efficiency. Total revenue and revenue from reserve management reached $2.7 billion, which is 64% higher than in the previous reporting period. At the same time, the company recorded a net loss of $70.0 million, which was fully attributable to share compensation costs of $424.0 million after the initial public offering. Nevertheless, the operating profit remained positive, amounting to about $157.0 million. Against this background, JPMorgan analysts previously indicated that Circle's new partnerships with the Hyperliquid platform may pose certain risks to the stability of the USDC ecosystem, which requires the company to carefully manage both intellectual and financial assets.

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The material has been prepared solely for informational purposes and does not constitute financial advice or recommendation.