Circle has successfully raised $222 million in a token presale for its proprietary Layer-1 blockchain, Arc, achieving a fully diluted valuation of approximately $3 billion. The funding round was led by Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from BlackRock, Apollo, and Intercontinental Exchange. This marks the first instance of a publicly traded company conducting a token presale, highlighting Circle's strategic shift from being solely a stablecoin issuer to owning the infrastructure on which its USDC operates. The move has sparked concerns about potential conflicts of interest, as Circle now controls the settlement network for its stablecoin, USDC. This development exposes a regulatory gap in the GENIUS Act, which focuses on stablecoin reserves and issuer oversight but does not address the implications of an issuer owning its settlement infrastructure. As Arc transitions from testnet to mainnet, regulators face pressure to establish rules ensuring neutrality and fair access in the blockchain's governance and operations.