Circle has announced the launch of its ARC token. During the presale, the company raised $222 million from a group of investors, including a16z crypto, BlackRock, and Apollo Funds. The network is valued at $3 billion.

The funds will be used to develop the Arc network—an infrastructure for managing security and operations within the ecosystem.

At the same time, Circle introduced Agent Stack, a toolkit for developers that enables the creation of crypto wallets and marketplaces for AI agents. The solution operates through a command-line interface and utilizes calculations in USDC.

According to the financial report for the first quarter, the company's performance showed growth:

  • The circulating supply of USDC reached $77 billion;
  • Total revenue amounted to $694 million (a 20% increase);
  • Adjusted EBITDA rose to $151 million.

Circle's net profit fell by 15% to $55 million. The company attributed this decline to rising operational expenses and employee compensation costs following its IPO.

Circle's CEO Jeremy Allaire noted that the company is focused on integrating AI platforms with financial systems. He stated that the launch of ARC and the stack for autonomous agents lays the groundwork for a new internet economy.

Among other achievements this quarter, the company highlighted the growth of the tokenized USYC fund, which has become the largest in its segment. Circle also integrated USDC into the treasury systems of Kyriba 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, according to Bloomberg citing its 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 secured $135 million from DRW Venture Capital and Tradeweb Markets.

Digital Asset is developing the Canton Network, which ensures transaction privacy for banks and government entities. In March, Moody’s began publishing its credit ratings on this network.

In April, the Japan Clearing Corporation started testing tokenized government bonds on the platform.

The project 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.

Recall that on May 7, the prediction platform Kalshi closed a Series F funding round at $1 billion, raising its valuation to $22 billion.