Key facts
- Circle's Arc blockchain public mainnet is set to launch on September 16.
- Founding validators include BlackRock, Visa, Mastercard, Goldman Sachs, SBI Group, and others.
- BlackRock intends to deploy its BUIDL tokenized money market fund on the Arc network.
- DTCC will enable tokenization of assets it custodies on Arc in the second half of 2027.
- Circle reported Q2 revenue of $701 million and net income of $48 million.
- Circle received final approval for a national trust bank from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
Circle is set to launch the public mainnet of its Arc blockchain on September 16, announcing a founding validator cohort comprised largely of traditional finance institutions. These include BlackRock, Visa, Mastercard, DTCC, Galaxy, Global Payments, ICE, MoneyGram, SBI Group, Standard Chartered, and Sumitomo Corporation, who will secure the network alongside Circle.
BlackRock is expected to deploy its tokenized money market fund, BUIDL, on the Arc network. The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) will enable the tokenization of assets it custodies on Arc, with this functionality slated for the second half of 2027.
Circle reported second-quarter revenue of $701 million and reserve income of $668 million, a 5% year-over-year increase. Net income reached $48 million, a significant improvement from a $482 million loss in the prior year, which was impacted by IPO stock compensation. Adjusted EBITDA was $143 million, up 8%.
USDC in circulation grew 19% to $73.3 billion by the end of the quarter, with on-chain transaction volume hitting $14.8 trillion, a 151% increase. Circle's share of the fiat-backed stablecoin market decreased to 27%.
Circle also secured final approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish Circle National Trust, a federal bank charter that will allow Circle to manage the USDC reserve itself and expand its digital dollar services globally. The Circle Payments Network reached $14.7 billion in annualized transaction volume, up 76% quarter-over-quarter, with $23 billion recorded by July 31.
Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire described the validator line-up as unmatched by any other network and noted that day-one DeFi protocols will include Aave, Morpho, and Uniswap, with access provided by Binance Wallet, Kraken, Ledger, and MetaMask. Gas fees on the Arc network will be paid in USDC.