Circle Launches Arc Mainnet with Major Financial Institutions
Circle has launched its Arc mainnet, an open layer 1 blockchain designed for financial markets and internet-native money movement. The network went live on Wednesday with over 100 institutional and ecosystem builders, including major financial institutions like BlackRock, Visa, Mastercard, and ICE.
The launch marks the first stage of a roadmap that includes proof of stake, privacy, and higher scalability. Arc's mainnet is built around several financial-market features, including USDC-denominated gas fees, sub-second finality, and support for tokenized assets and stablecoins.
Circle StableFX provides 24/7 cross-currency settlement, while Circle Payments Network is integrated for near-real-time cross-border payments. Opt-in privacy is also being developed for network-wide deployment, with confidential balances and transactions alongside view-key access.