Key facts
- Circle launched its Arc Layer 1 blockchain mainnet on Wednesday.
- Arc uses USDC as its native gas token for transactions.
- The network supports over 20 fiat stablecoins, including USDC, EURC, JPYC, KRW1, and TRYB.
- Tokenized assets such as BlackRock's BUIDL and Circle's USYC are available on Arc.
- Circle completed the genesis mint of 10 billion ARC tokens, though a public launch is not confirmed.
- Founding validators include BlackRock, DTCC, ICE, Mastercard, Visa, Standard Chartered, and SBI Group.
Circle has launched the public mainnet of its Arc blockchain, a Layer 1 network built for payments, trading, and financial applications, utilizing USDC as its native gas token. Chief executive Jeremy Allaire described the launch as "the single most significant launch in Circle's history since USDC itself." The network supports over 20 fiat stablecoins, including USDC, EURC, JPYC, KRW1, and TRYB, as well as tokenized assets like BlackRock's BUIDL and Circle's USYC. Arc offers interoperability with more than 20 other blockchains through Circle's Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP) and Gateway. The network launched with a permissioned validator model, featuring founding participants such as BlackRock, DTCC, ICE, Mastercard, Visa, Standard Chartered, and SBI Group, with over 100 institutional and ecosystem partners on day one. Circle completed the genesis mint of 10 billion ARC tokens this week, but stated this is not a commitment to a public launch. The company plans to transition Arc to a proof-of-stake model in 2027, potentially using ARC for network security and governance while retaining USDC as the gas currency.