Circle has signed an agreement to acquire the team and proprietary intellectual property from Interop Labs, the core contributor and initial developer of the Axelar Network. The deal, expected to close in early 2026, aims to accelerate Circle's cross-chain infrastructure strategy, particularly for its Arc blockchain and Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP).

The acquisition integrates Interop Labs' engineering expertise and proprietary technology directly into Circle, enhancing efforts to enable seamless movement of digital assets across over 100 blockchain ecosystems. Circle emphasized that the transaction does not include the Axelar Network itself, its Foundation, or the AXL token, which will continue to operate independently under community governance. Open-source components of Axelar will remain publicly available.

Interop Labs has played a pivotal role in developing Axelar, a leading framework for secure cross-chain messaging and token transfers, collaborating with a community of open-source contributors. Following the transition, Common Prefix, another long-time contributor to Axelar, will assume many of Interop Labs' previous activities to ensure continuity.

The move is expected to deliver several key benefits for Circle:

• Faster interoperability for digital assets issued on Arc, Circle's enterprise-grade Layer-1 blockchain designed as an "Economic OS" for the internet.