Exchange Ranking
Top Exchanges
24h Volume Ranking
Popularity Ranking
Exchange BTC Balance
Proof of Reserves
Decentralized Exchanges
Funding Rate
Funding Heatmap
Liquidation Data
Max Pain
Long/Short Ratio
Whale L/S Ratio
Binance/Okex/Huobi L/S
Bitfinex Margin L/S
ETF Tracker
Solana ETF
XRP ETF
Hong Kong ETF
Bitcoin Treasuries
Crypto Reversal
Ethereum Reserves
HyperLiquid Wallet Analysis
Hyperliquid Whale Watch
Large Transactions
On-chain Movement
Bitcoin ROI
Stablecoin Market Cap
Options Analysis
News
Articles
Economic Calendar
Features
Wallet
Contract Calculator
Security
Collections
Watchlist
FollowingCircle Internet Group acquires IBM's large blockchain patent portfolio
Circle Internet Group (@Circle) has acquired most of the assets in IBM's blockchain patent portfolio, making the stablecoin issuer the largest blockchain patent holder in the United States.
Transaction coverage
The acquisition includes more than 680 patent families and nearly 1000 authorized patents around the world, covering areas such as banking, financial services, insurance, enterprise infrastructure, supply chain verification and secure cloud operations.
Circle said the deal will strengthen the technology foundation behind its expanding line of digital financial products, including USDC, Circle Payment Networks, Arc and other on-chain financial services designed to support the emerging Internet financial system.
The two companies also said they intend to explore more business cooperation opportunities after the transaction is completed.
Markets and Strategic Significance
Shares of Circle Internet Group (NYSE: CRCL) rose 2.8% in pre-market trading on Monday following the announcement.
This transaction marks a major shift in the distribution of blockchain intellectual property across the industry. IBM's blockchain patent portfolio has long been considered one of the most comprehensive collections of intellectual property in the field, with its core centered around improving data security, efficiency and transparency in a decentralized environment.
"Intellectual property is critical to advancing our mission and expanding the adoption of infrastructure on the chain," said Sarah Wilson, Circle's general counsel and corporate secretary.
Against the backdrop of increasingly fierce competition for digital payments and tokenized finance, the acquisition gives Circle broad defensive and offensive advantages in intellectual property.
For IBM, the deal reflects a broader strategic shift. In recent years, the company's decline in the number of new blockchain patent applications has shown that it is gradually moving towards monetizing its existing patent portfolio. Selling the core part of the patent portfolio to Circle has accelerated this transformation.
