Circle has launched the public mainnet of Arc, a new Layer-1 blockchain designed for financial markets, payments and other real-time financial activity.
Arc is built around USDC, with transaction fees paid directly in the stablecoin instead of a separate native token. The network is designed to offer sub-second settlement, predictable fees and support for applications across payments, foreign exchange, trading, lending and tokenized assets.
The mainnet launched with more than 100 applications and over 100 institutional and ecosystem participants, including banks, asset managers, payment companies, exchanges, custodians and DeFi platforms.
Circle said Arc will initially support assets including USDC and EURC, while its roadmap also includes tokenized real-world assets and other financial instruments.
The network also has a strong focus on AI-driven transactions. Circle says Arc was designed to support AI agents as economic participants, allowing them to make payments, trade assets and manage financial tasks on behalf of users and businesses.
Founding validators include BlackRock, DTCC, Galaxy, ICE, Mastercard, MoneyGram, SBI Group, Standard Chartered, Sumitomo Corporation, Visa and Worldpay.
Circle said Arc’s testnet processed more than 700 million transactions, while its developer community has built more than 1,200 projects on the network.
The company also plans to explore a transition from its current Proof-of-Authority model to Proof of Stake in 2027. Circle has created an initial supply of 10 billion ARC tokens, although it said this does not mean the token will necessarily be launched publicly.
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