Circle Raises $400 Million From BlackRock, Fidelity, and Others

USDC stablecoin issuer and global finance company Circle has raised $400 million in a new funding round that is expected to close in the second quarter of the year. Participants in the funding round include BlackRock, Fidelity, Marshall Wace and Fin Capital.

The fresh capital will be used to explore new ways to enhance Circle’s  expansion and growth, the company said. 

Circle Partners with BackRock

Aside from investing in Circle, BlackRock also inked a strategic partnership with the stablecoin issuer to explore the capital market for USDC applications. 

Jeremy D. Allaire, CEO and founder of Circle, noted that the partnership will help position the company as the leading stablecoin issuer as the world’s economic system is gradually moving towards virtual currency and blockchain. 

“With the BlackRock partnership, we are expanding on our existing relationship with BlackRock to manage significant assets for the reserves that back USDC and to explore new ways that USDC can be adopted in TradFi capital markets applications,” he said. 

Circle believes that the strength of the private sector’s innovations, such as developing an open financial system on blockchain, can help bind the U.S. leadership role in the digital economy. 

Apart from this, Circle recently entered into an agreement with Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (BNY Mellon) to become the primary custodian of the USDC reserves. 

Just last month, Circle named Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (BNY Mellon) as the primary custodian of the USDC reserves. 

As reported, both Circle and BNY Mellon will use their skills and knowledge to nullify the gap between traditional financial services and digital currency. 

VCs Invest in Crypto Startups

Meanwhile, crypto-related entities have been attracting investment from other venture capital firms. 

In March, Coinformania reported that Mina raised $92 Million from a funding round led by FTX Ventures and Three Arrows Capital with contributions from other notable firms including Circle Ventures and Blockchain.com. 

Mina plans to use the fund to develop its zero-knowledge-based smart contract and also to increase its user base.