Circle Acquires Informal’s Consensus Engine to Support New Blockchain Network

Circle Internet Group acquired a high-performance consensus engine called Malachite from blockchain infrastructure and protocol designer Informal Systems to support Circle’s launch of a new open Layer-1 blockchain network called Arc that is purpose-built for stablecoin finance.

“This acquisition is a strong validation of Malachite and of our incubation model,” Informal Systems CEO Ethan Buchman said in a Monday (Aug. 18) press release. “Circle’s adoption of Malachite provides a high-impact use case, a robust financial foundation for future development, and ensures our technology contributes to meaningful, mission-aligned outcomes.”

Circle said in an Aug. 12 post on X that it was welcoming the Malachite team and intellectual property from Informal Systems and that Arc is built on Malachite’s high-performance consensus engine.

“In line with our commitment to open-source development, the core software for Arc will be released under a permissive license, enabling the broader developer community to contribute, extend, and build on top,” Circle said in the post.

“Serving as a foundational infrastructure for the internet, Arc will enable 24/7 global settlement that’s as seamless and native as messaging on the web,” the company said.

Circle said in the post that it expects that Arc will enter private testnet in the coming weeks, followed by public testnet in the fall.

Circle Internet Group CEO Jeremy Allaire said in June that the stablecoin issuer sees opportunities to partner with a wide range of companies.

“It’s a tremendous opportunity as the world connects to this new form of currency on the internet,” Allaire told Bloomberg Television at the time. “We see tremendous opportunities to collaborate with major technology firms, major payments companies, major financial institutions, and we already do.”

Circle is a stablecoin company in the midst of scaling a regulated internet financial platform, PYMNTS reported Tuesday.

During Circle’s first-ever earnings report, held that day, the company said the Circle-issued USDC in circulation surged 90% year-over-year to $61.3 billion as of June 30.

For Informal Systems, Circle’s acquisition of Malachite aligns with Informal’s strategy of spinning out incubated projects to accelerate their growth, according to the Monday press release.

The company continues to support other Malachite use cases and collaborate with partners on blockchain applications, according to the release.