Circle Acquires 680+ Patent Families From IBM Blockchain Portfolio; Stock Rises 2.8%

On July 27, Circle Internet Group announced the acquisition of over 680 patent families and nearly 1,000 granted patents from IBM's blockchain patent portfolio. Circle shares rose 2.8% during premarket trading following the announcement, while IBM shares gained 1.6%. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The acquired patents cover banking, financial services, insurance, enterprise infrastructure, supply chain verification, and secure cloud operations. According to Circle, the intellectual property aligns with its strategy for developing internet-native finance infrastructure and is expected to support USDC, the Circle Payments Network, and other on-chain financial products. The acquisition positions Circle as a leading U.S. blockchain patent holder.