Key insight: Circle acquired nearly 1,000 blockchain patents overnight through buying up IBM's portfolio of distributed ledger tech patents. Circle acquired nearly 1,000 blockchain patents overnight through buying up IBM's portfolio of distributed ledger tech patents. Processing ContentCircle said this week that it has acquired "fundamental assets" from IBM's blockchain patent portfolio. IBM has been one of several companies building blockchain technology for banks and credit unions for the past decade. IBM is also one of the companies backing the recently unveiled Open Standard stablecoin initiative, which would compete directly with Circle's USDC stablecoin.