Circle has launched the public mainnet of Arc, a new Layer 1 blockchain aimed at expanding the company’s role beyond stablecoins and into payments, tokenized assets, foreign exchange, and broader financial market infrastructure.
The network is designed to support real-time movement of money and financial applications, with USDC serving as the native currency for transaction fees. Arc is also compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), allowing developers to deploy and operate compatible applications on the network.
Arc Targets Faster Financial Settlement
A key feature of Arc is deterministic sub-second finality, which is intended to allow transactions to reach final settlement rapidly. Circle is initially operating the blockchain with a permissioned group of institutional validators as it gradually expands participation.
More than 100 applications and over 100 institutional and ecosystem builders are participating at the mainnet launch, according to Circle. The company said Arc’s testnet processed more than 700 million transactions before the public network went live.
Circle Chief Executive Jeremy Allaire described the launch as a major milestone in the company’s history, positioning Arc as a broader step toward internet-based financial infrastructure following the development of USDC.
Arc is designed to provide a blockchain infrastructure layer for payments, foreign exchange, lending, trading, and tokenized financial assets, extending Circle’s financial ecosystem beyond its stablecoin business.
Several major decentralized finance protocols are already available on Arc, including Aave, Morpho and Uniswap. The presence of these applications is intended to provide developers and financial institutions with access to established liquidity and financial services from the beginning of the network’s public operation.
Payments and Tokenized Assets Form Core Use Cases
Circle Payments Network and StableFX are also directly connected to Arc. StableFX is designed to facilitate continuous foreign exchange trading and settlement using multiple stablecoins, including USDC, EURC, JPYC, and KRW1.
Tokenized investment products are another component of Arc’s initial financial infrastructure. BlackRock’s BUIDL and Circle’s USYC can be used in activities involving trading, lending and collateral, potentially expanding the ways tokenized funds can interact with blockchain-based financial markets.
BlackRock’s digital assets chief Robbie Mitchnick said purpose-built blockchains could contribute to wider adoption of digital assets. He also indicated that Arc could support stablecoin and payment applications at scale.
Arc Mainnet is live.
Built for programmable money, global markets, and agentic economic activity, Arc brings stablecoin-native infrastructure to builders and institutions from day one.
Explore what’s live on Arc: https://t.co/2dpsrq6vW3 pic.twitter.com/KzWq7sM8Bg
— Circle (@circle) September 16, 2026
The combination of payment infrastructure, foreign exchange settlement, decentralized finance applications and tokenized funds reflects Circle’s effort to create a blockchain specifically oriented toward financial activity rather than general-purpose transactions alone.
Circle Plans Potential Proof-of-Stake Transition
Arc currently relies on institutional validators, with participation being introduced through a phased process. Circle identified BlackRock, DTCC, ICE, Mastercard, Visa, and Standard Chartered among the founding validator group.
Arc Mainnet is live.
Arc launches as the Economic OS for the internet: an open platform for global markets, real-time value movement, tokenized assets, and agentic economic activity.
Arc is more than a blockchain.
It launches as a full-stack financial platform with assets,… pic.twitter.com/SWg0NlUijO
— Arc (@arc) September 16, 2026
The company has also minted an initial supply of 10 billion ARC tokens. However, Circle has emphasized that the token minting does not represent confirmation of a public launch of ARC as a tradable asset.
Circle plans to transition Arc toward a proof-of-stake model in 2027, under which ARC could eventually support network security, governance and other coordination functions.
Despite the potential transition, USDC is expected to remain Arc’s gas currency, meaning users would continue to use USDC to pay transaction fees on the network.
Circle is also developing additional infrastructure for Arc, including payment and tokenized financial-market applications. The company is working on privacy-focused tools and AgentVM, which is intended to expand the network’s capabilities for automated economic activity.
The mainnet launch marks a significant expansion of Circle’s blockchain strategy, placing Arc alongside its existing stablecoin and payments infrastructure. By combining fast settlement, EVM compatibility, institutional validation, and financial applications, the company is positioning Arc as infrastructure for a wider range of digital financial transactions.
