Fortune warns Circle’s IBM patent deal could hurt crypto ecosystem

Fortune raised concerns that Circle’s acquisition of more than 1,000 blockchain-related patents from IBM could harm the broader digital-asset ecosystem. The report questioned the practical value of the IBM patents and noted that IBM’s earlier push into enterprise blockchain effectively ended in failure. Fortune also warned that Circle could use the intellectual property it acquired to file patent-infringement lawsuits against rivals or early-stage startups, or pressure them to pay licensing fees.