Circle (CRCL) has acquired close to 1,000 issued blockchain patents from IBM, a purchase the stablecoin issuer says makes it the biggest holder of blockchain patents in the United States. The deal deepens Circle’s intellectual property position as it expands its onchain financial infrastructure.

The patent portfolio comprises more than 680 patent families spanning foundational blockchain technology, banking, financial services, insurance, enterprise infrastructure, supply-chain verification, and cloud security, according to Circle. The financial terms were not disclosed. Circle also did not say how many of the patents were issued in the U.S. or whether IBM retained any licensing rights.

This story is an excerpt from the Unchained Daily newsletter.

A large patent estate strengthens Circle’s claim over core technology as competitors crowd into stablecoins and onchain payments. Circle said the IP would support USDC, the Circle Payments Network, its Arc blockchain, and financial tools designed for AI agents.

Circle received its first patent in December 2023 and had joined the LOT Network to protect its products from patent-assertion firms. Circle and IBM said they plan to explore additional commercial opportunities together.

This month Circle won final federal approval to establish a national trust bank, Circle National Trust. Circle is set to report second-quarter results on August 5.

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