Circle has officially launched the public mainnet of its Arc blockchain, a purpose-built Layer 1 network designed for stablecoin finance, institutional markets, real-time payments and emerging AI-driven economic activity.
The Circle Arc blockchain went live on September 16, 2026, with USDC serving as its native gas token, deterministic sub-second finality and more than 100 institutional and ecosystem builders participating at launch. The network is EVM-compatible, allowing developers to use existing Ethereum-based tools and Solidity smart contracts with minimal changes.
Key Highlights
- Circle has launched the public mainnet of its Arc Layer 1 blockchain.
- USDC is used to pay transaction fees on Arc instead of a volatile native token.
- Arc offers deterministic sub-second transaction finality.
- The network is EVM-compatible and supports existing Ethereum development tools.
- More than 100 institutional and ecosystem builders are participating at launch.
- Founding validators include BlackRock, DTCC, Visa, Mastercard, ICE, Galaxy and Standard Chartered.
- Uniswap, Aave and Morpho are among the major DeFi protocols building on Arc.
- Circle has minted 10 billion ARC tokens but has not committed to a public ARC token launch.
Circle Arc Blockchain Goes Live
Circle described Arc as an “Economic OS” for the internet, positioning the network as infrastructure for payments, foreign exchange, tokenised assets, lending, trading and other financial applications.
Unlike many general-purpose blockchains where transaction fees are paid using volatile native cryptocurrencies, Arc uses USDC for gas. Circle says the design is intended to give institutions and developers predictable, dollar-denominated transaction costs.
Circle CEO and co-founder Jeremy Allaire described the launch as the company’s most significant launch since USDC.
He said Arc reflects Circle’s long-standing vision of money operating in a way similar to the internet, with continuous availability, programmability and global accessibility.
Major Financial Institutions Join Arc Validators
The Circle Arc blockchain launched with a founding validator group made up of major financial and payments institutions.
The cohort includes BlackRock, the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), Galaxy, ICE, Mastercard, MoneyGram, SBI Group, Standard Chartered, Sumitomo Corporation, Visa and Worldpay, which is now part of Global Payments. Circle is also participating as a validator.
The validators are being rolled out in phases as Circle develops the network’s institutional infrastructure.
Circle said more than 100 institutional and ecosystem builders are already participating across banking, asset management, payments, exchanges, custody, DeFi, wallets and AI-related applications.
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Uniswap, Aave and Morpho Build on Arc
Several major decentralised finance protocols are also part of the Arc ecosystem.
Uniswap has deployed its trading infrastructure on Arc, while Aave has launched a V4 lending market. Morpho is also providing lending infrastructure on the network.
The broader ecosystem includes payment companies, exchanges, custody providers, wallet operators and infrastructure providers, giving developers and institutions access to trading, lending, payments and liquidity services from the beginning of the public mainnet.
Key Features of Arc Blockchain
Circle has designed Arc around several features intended to support institutional financial activity.
USDC as Native Gas: Transaction fees on Arc are paid in USDC. Circle says this provides predictable, dollar-denominated costs and removes the need for users to hold a volatile native token simply to pay network fees.
Sub-Second Finality: Arc uses deterministic sub-second finality, meaning transactions can reach final settlement rapidly without the uncertainty associated with blockchain reorganisations.
EVM Compatibility: Arc is fully EVM-compatible, allowing developers to use familiar Ethereum-based frameworks, tools and Solidity smart contracts.
Circle said developers have already built more than 1,200 projects through its Arc developer community, while the network’s testnet processed more than 700 million transactions in less than a year.
Focus on Financial Markets: Arc is designed around financial use cases including payments, foreign exchange, tokenised real-world assets, trading and lending.
The network also integrates Circle’s broader infrastructure, including its payments and stablecoin products.
Arc Targets AI-Driven Economic Activity
Circle is also positioning Arc as infrastructure for what it calls the “agentic economy”, where AI agents can carry out financial activities on behalf of individuals and businesses.
The company said its Agent Stack already provides tools for developers and AI agents to manage payments, route liquidity, execute trades and carry out contracts.
Arc was designed from its foundation to support this emerging category of economic activity.
Circle Mints 10 Billion ARC Tokens
Circle has also completed the genesis mint of 10 billion ARC tokens.
However, the company stressed that the mint does not represent a commitment to publicly launch the ARC token.
Circle said the token is intended as a potential digital commodity and coordination mechanism for security, utility and governance as the network explores a future transition from its current Proof-of-Authority model towards Proof of Stake in 2027.
Transaction fees on Arc will continue to be paid in USDC.
Arc’s Roadmap
The public mainnet launch is the beginning of Circle’s broader development roadmap for Arc.
Future plans include network sectors focused on privacy, payments and AI agents, alongside continued development of scalability, Proof of Stake and post-quantum security features.
Circle said Arc currently supports post-quantum signatures, with additional protections under development.
With major financial institutions participating as validators and leading DeFi protocols building on the network, the Circle Arc blockchain represents Circle’s latest effort to connect traditional financial infrastructure with blockchain-based financial services. More details are available in Circle’s official announcement. For more updates on this and other tech stories, follow us on X.
