Circle announced the launch of the ARC token. During the presale, the company raised $222 million from a group of investors, including a16z crypto, BlackRock, and Apollo Funds. The network was valued at $3 billion.
The funds will be directed towards the development of the Arc network—an infrastructure for managing security and operations within the ecosystem.
Simultaneously, Circle introduced Agent Stack, a set of developer tools that enables the creation of crypto wallets and marketplaces for AI agents. The solution operates via a command-line interface and utilizes calculations in USDC.
According to the financial report for the first quarter, the company’s metrics showed growth:
- the volume of USDC in circulation reached $77 billion;
- total revenue amounted to $694 million (a 20% increase);
- adjusted EBITDA rose to $151 million.
Circle’s net profit decreased by 15% to $55 million. The company attributed the decline to increased operating expenses and employee compensation costs following its public listing.
Circle’s CEO, Jeremy Allaire, noted that the firm is focusing on integrating AI platforms with financial systems. According to him, the launch of ARC and the stack for autonomous agents lays the foundation for the economy of the new internet.
Among other achievements of the quarter, the company highlighted the growth of the tokenized USYC fund, which became the largest in its segment. Circle also integrated USDC into Kyriba’s treasury systems and expanded its collaboration with the Polymarket platform.
Digital Asset to Raise $300 Million
Digital Asset, the developer of the Canton Network blockchain aimed at financial institutions, is set to raise $300 million in investments. The round will be led by a16z crypto, reports Bloomberg citing its own sources.
The deal is expected to close within a few weeks. The current valuation of the startup has reached $2 billion. Less than a year ago, the company received $135 million from DRW Venture Capital and Tradeweb Markets.
Digital Asset is developing the Canton Network, which provides transaction privacy for banks and government entities. In March, Moody’s began placing its credit ratings on this network.
In April, the Japan Securities Clearing Corporation began testing tokenized government bonds on the platform.
The project also collaborates with the American DTCC. The organizations are working on the tokenization of assets held in custody at the depository. In July, the partners will implement a pilot project for trading digital copies of liquid assets, with a full service launch planned for October.
On May 7, the prediction platform Kalshi closed a Series F funding round of $1 billion. The project’s valuation increased to $22 billion.