The blockchain-focused crypto payment firm Circle announced a $400 million fundraising round backed by Blackrock. To look for new possibilities USDC issuer Circle entered a partnership with Blackrock, an American investment firm that will be its primary investor.
Along with Blackrock as a key investor, other firms such as Fidelity Management and Research, Marshall Wace LLP, and Fin Capital will also invest in Circle’s funding round, which is expected to end in the second quarter of 2022.
As per the announcement, Blackrock will play the role of the primary asset manager of USDC cash reserves and will help Circle to explore capital market applications for USDC.
Circle is the creator of USDC stablecoin and its current valuation is more than $9 billion. After closing a deal with Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC), the USDC provider got this outstanding valuation earlier this year.
In May 2021, Circle had fetched $440 million in financing from institutional and strategic investors. The blog post stated that USDC is one of the fastest-growing dollar-backed digital currencies that holds over a $50 billion market cap.
The current fundraising round could pave the way for Circle to become “a full-reserve national commercial bank” in the U.S. The USDC issuer is consistently striving to mitigate the risk factor around its business.
“Dollar digital currencies like USDC are fueling a global economic transformation, and Circle’s technology infrastructure sits at the center of that change. This funding round will drive the next evolution of Circle’s growth,” said Jeremy Allaire, co-founder, and CEO of Circle.
