SS #121 - Circle Acquires IBM Patents

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Good morning.

Circle's acquisition of IBM's 680-patent blockchain portfolio is less about the technology itself, most of which predates USDC, and more about controlling the legal terrain stablecoin infrastructure will be built on, a move that reads as pre-emptive leverage against an emerging class of open-source competitors like Open USD that could otherwise commoditize the very rails Circle depends on.

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In Today's Edition:

• Headline: Circle Acquires IBM Patents

• Quick Bites: Samsung Wallet Plans Stablecoin Support

• Yield of the Week: srRoyAPYUSD/apyUSD LP's 17.55% APY

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HEADLINE

State of play: Circle acquired IBM's blockchain patent portfolio, over 680 patent families and nearly 1,000 issued patents, making it the largest blockchain patent holder in the US and sending CRCL shares up more than 5%.

• The portfolio spans foundational blockchain technology, banking, financial services, insurance, and supply chain verification.

• Circle says the IP directly supports USDC, the Circle Payments Network, and its Arc blockchain.

• Circle and IBM plan to explore additional commercial opportunities beyond the initial acquisition.

• Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

• USDC's supply stood at over $74B as of July 27.

What’s Next: Watch whether Circle begins asserting or licensing these patents against competitors, which would signal the acquisition is offense rather than defense.

Why it Matters: Owning the largest US blockchain patent portfolio gives Circle a defensive moat and licensing leverage just as rivals like Open USD threaten to commoditize stablecoin infrastructure.

Our Take: Patents don't generate stablecoin revenue directly, but they raise the cost of competing, a quieter version of the same land-grab Circle is running in South Korea, just aimed at IP instead of partnerships.

QUICK BITES

• KB Kookmin Bank to launch cross-border payment service on Kinexys.

• Samsung Wallet plans stablecoin support in digital payments expansion.

• IBM portfolio acquisition makes Circle the largest US blockchain patent holder.

YIELD OF THE WEEK

HOLLAR (Hydration Omnipool): 14.1% APR

• The pool accepts HOLLAR deposits into Hydration's Omnipool, with ~$1.99M in TVL near its $2.17M liquidity limit and ~$229.87k in 24H volume.

• Capital is deployed into the Omnipool as single-sided liquidity, representing 18.65% of total Omnipool composition with farming rewards running until November 1, 2026.

• Yield is generated from trading fees and farm incentives, with a total Fee + Farm APR of 16.72% and HOLLAR rewards contributing up to 14.1% APR.

srRoyAPYUSD/apyUSD LP (Pendle): 17.55% APY

• The pool accepts srRoyAPYUSD deposits, the Royco senior tranche for apyUSD providing first-claim rights on dividends with principal protection backed by the junior tranche buffer, with ~$237.88k in pool liquidity.

• Capital is heavily skewed toward PT srRoyAPYUSD (~$228k, 95.85%) versus srRoyAPYUSD SY (~$9.86k, 4.15%), with the market currently trading outside its intended 7-13% range.

• Yield is generated from apyUSD's DAT preferred share dividends distributed to senior tranche holders first, with LP APY of 17.55% driven entirely by srRoyAPYUSD underlying yield, with negligible LP fees.

Hyperithm USDC Apex: 11.51% APY

• The vault accepts USDC deposits on Monad and maximizes yield by integrating unique collateral assets across active Morpho lending markets, with ~$45.51M in total deposits and ~$6.58M in available liquidity.

• Capital is primarily deployed into aHYPER/USDC (~$40.56M, 89.1% at 91.46% utilization), with smaller allocations to PT-USDat-27AUG2026/USDC (~$2.37M) and mHYPER/USDC (~$289k).

• Yield is generated from lending demand across HYPER ecosystem and blue-chip collateral markets, with a base vault APY of 10.42% boosted by 1.08% in WMON incentives, at 0% management and performance fees.

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