Circle Token ARC Pre-sale! Attracting Wall Street institutions to raise $220 million, project valuation skyrockets

Circle has completed the pre-sale of its native public chain Arc’s token, securing investments of $220 million from institutions such as BlackRock and a16z, with a valuation reaching $3 billion.

According to CNBC reports, USDC issuer Circle has completed the pre-sale of its Layer 1 public chain “Arc” native token $ARC , successfully raising $222 million, pushing the project’s valuation to $3 billion.

This round of funding not only attracted major crypto venture capital firms but also top Wall Street financial institutions. The participating investors include BlackRock, Apollo Funds, as well as well-known venture capital firm a16z crypto, Ark Invest led by Cathie Wood, cryptocurrency exchange Bullish, Haun Ventures, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), and Standard Chartered Ventures.

This fundraising marks a significant strategic shift for Circle. Traditionally known for USDC and payment infrastructure, the company is now demonstrating unprecedented expansion ambitions, preparing to step out of its comfort zone and fully enter the “institutional-grade finance” market, aiming to create dedicated blockchain tracks for traditional financial institutions.

Circle also released the Arc white paper today (11th), which states that the $ARC token will serve as the “native coordination asset” within the ecosystem, playing a core role in network governance, validator security, and overall network operation.

In fact, the Arc blockchain has quietly begun testing as early as October last year, with a very clear positioning: a blockchain specifically designed for stablecoin capital markets and “regulated financial activities.” Future use cases will focus on real asset tokenization (RWA), cross-border clearing, and compliant on-chain finance.

How does $ARC differ from the USDC we are familiar with? Simply put, USDC is a “stablecoin” pegged 1:1 to the US dollar, mainly used for value storage and daily payments; whereas $ARC is more like Ethereum’s Ether or Solana’s $SOL , with its core value in coordinating network economy and security models.

In other words, Circle is building its own ecosystem, not just providing a trading medium.

• This article is reprinted with permission from: “Block Beast”
• Original title: “Circle Completes $222 Million $ARC Token Pre-sale! Project Valuation Surges to $3 Billion”
• Original author: Block Sister MEL