Circle launches Arc mainnet with BlackRock and Visa among validators, mints 10 billion ARC tokens

Circle's Arc mainnet has been launched, with USDC serving as the native gas token for transactions. The Layer-1 (L1) blockchain is focused on stablecoin payments and financial markets, particularly agentic transactions. USDC issuer Circle unveiled the mainnet of Arc, a blockchain platform offering Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatibility and deterministic sub-second settlement finality.

The network supports over 20 fiat stablecoins, such as USDC, EURC, JPYC, KRW1, and TRYB, in addition to native tokenized assets, including BlackRock's BUIDL and Circle's USYC. Arc also enables interoperability with more than 20 blockchains via Circle's Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP) and Gateway.

Circle's CEO, Jeremy Allaire, described Arc as "the single most significant launch in Circle's history since USDC itself." The launch comes after Arc's public testnet debut in October 2025, where more than 100 companies, including BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, Mastercard, and Visa, participated. Circle revealed that over 100 institutional and ecosystem builders engaged with Arc's private mainnet before the public launch in August.

The company plans to broaden participation in network operations and explore transitioning from Proof of Authority to Proof of Stake in 2027. Circle has also completed the genesis mint of 10 billion ARC tokens this week, although the mint does not represent a commitment to launch the token publicly.