Circle Launched Its Own Blockchain. What Happens to Ethereum?

Nikhil Chandhok, Chief Technology and Product Officer at Circle, joins CoinDesk Contributor Kate Irwin on Markets Outlook the day Arc mainnet goes live. Chandhok explains why gas on Arc is USDC and not a native token, how opt-in privacy works, why BlackRock and Visa signed on as validators, and what changes for institutions when GENIUS rules take effect in January. Plus, Beezie Founder and CEO Andrea Miele on why tokenized luxury goods are the next frontier for provenance and liquidity. - This episode is brought to you by Grayscale, the world's largest digital asset-focused investment platform. Grayscale's mission is to make digital asset investing simple and open to every investor. Learn more at grayscale.com. - This episode is brought to you by RealFi, a smarter stablecoin, backed by real-world assets. Join the Testnet now at realfi.co. - Timecodes: 00:00 - Nikhil Chandhok Joins Markets Outlook 00:59 - CLARITY Failed. Why GENIUS Is Circle's Guiding Light 02:37 - Circle Announces Arc Mainnet 03:00 - How Opt-In Privacy Works on Arc 04:35 - Why Gas Is USDC and Not a Native Token 06:52 - Will AI Agents Take Over Onchain Activity? 10:10 - Brand New Rails: Tokenized Luxury with Beezie 13:11 - Why BlackRock and Visa Signed On as Validators 15:20 - DeFi on Arc: Aave, Morpho and Uniswap 16:43 - The Biggest Challenge Facing Institutions 18:45 - Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Why Circle Isn't Bearish - #digitalfinance #finance #bitcoin Subscribe to CoinDesk on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/CoinDesk?sub_confirmation=1 CoinDesk is the leading digital media, events and information services company for the crypto asset and blockchain technology community. Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/coindesk LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/coindesk Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coindesk Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CoinDesk Newsletters: https://www.coindesk.com/newsletters CoinDesk Podcast Network: https://open.spotify.com/show/2jyIhkvAQhed8AWDZiPpSP Public Keys: https://open.spotify.com/show/1rqYzRV10nfKfoTpFXZhTE Markets Daily Crypto Roundup: https://open.spotify.com/show/7sDXM8BlxsUqzL2IqmLqwE The Policy Protocol: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Fh8ffulAWcCqMu0uVuwoj