Patents are legal rights that give the holder exclusive control over a specific invention. If you hold a patent on a method for processing transactions on a blockchain—the shared digital ledger where crypto activity is permanently recorded and can't be altered—you get to decide who else uses it and on what terms. IBM had been building that kind of leverage since its mid-2010s enterprise blockchain push.
"Intellectual property is critical to advancing our mission and expanding adoption of onchain infrastructure," said Sarah Wilson, Circle's General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. "IBM has been a pioneer in technological innovation, and this acquisition expands Circle's ability to advance the infrastructure that powers global, internet-native finance."
IBM sold Circle its foundational blockchain IP while simultaneously backing the stablecoin built to eat USDC's market share. CRCL shares rose 2.57% Monday after the announcement.
