Circle Launches Arc Mainnet With Major Financial Institutions as Validators
On September 16, 2026, Circle launched the mainnet of its new Layer 1 blockchain called Arc. Designed for payments and trading, it features USDC as both a stablecoin and gas token. The network includes validators such as BlackRock, DTCC, Visa, Mastercard, MoneyGram, SBI Group, Standard Chartered, Sumitomo, Worldpay, and Galaxy. Circle's CEO Jeremy Allaire described the launch as one of the company’s most significant milestones since USDC itself. Circle has already completed a genesis mint for ARC tokens, creating all 10 billion units in preparation for potential future transitions from proof of authority to proof of stake by 2027. The Arc token presale raised $222 million at a valuation of $3 billion with participation from major banks and DeFi platforms like Aave, Uniswap, Binance, Kraken, Bybit, OKX, and Coinbase. The testnet processed over 700 million transactions in less than a year. Arc supports optional post-quantum signatures for enhanced security and includes features such as agent wallets, spending limits, nanopayments, and tokenized collateral via USYC from Circle.
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Topics: blockchain financial_infrastructure stablecoin validator_networks