Circle buys nearly 1,000 IBM blockchain patents

Circle Internet Group has acquired more than 680 IBM patent families containing nearly 1,000 issued patents worldwide. Summary Circle acquired nearly 1,000 IBM patents spanning blockchain, payments, banking, insurance, supply chains and cloud. Circle says the expanded portfolio supports USDC, Payments Network, Arc and its agentic finance tools. Financial terms remain undisclosed, while Circle and IBM plan to explore further commercial opportunities together. The portfolio covers blockchain infrastructure, banking, payments, insurance, enterprise systems, supply-chain verification and secure cloud operations. Circle announced the transaction on July 27 but did not disclose its price or other financial terms. In its official announcement, Circle said the deal made it the “leader in blockchain patent holdings in the United States.” That remains the company’s claim. Circle did not publish a full patent list, ranking method or independent comparison with other U.S. holders. Patent portfolio broadens Circle’s infrastructure position A patent family groups related filings that protect one invention across different countries. Therefore, 680 families and nearly 1,000 issued patents do not ...