USDC Issuer Circle to Acquire Interop Labs, Bolstering Arc Enterprise Platform and Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol

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Circle, the issuer of USDC, disclosed on December 16 that it has signed a deal to acquire the Interop Labs team and its proprietary IP. The transaction is targeted for closure in early 2026, with Circle saying the move will bolster its work in interoperability and support its open, interconnected, scalable “chain-based economy” vision.

Interop Labs has played a pivotal role in Axelar‘s cross-chain messaging and token transfer framework, collaborating with a vibrant open-source community. Integrating Interop Labs‘s talent into Circle is expected to speed up work on Arc—Circle’s enterprise-focused layer for the blockchain Internet economic operating system—and the cross-chain transfer protocol.

The deal covers only the Interop Labs team and its IP. Following the integration, the Axelar network, foundation, and AXL token will continue to operate independently under community governance, with the open-source IP remaining accessible. Common Prefix, another Axelar contributor, will assume Interop Labs’ ongoing responsibilities.