Circle's Arc Blockchain Attracts Heavyweights in Early Test Run

Circle has made a significant move in the blockchain space by launching the public testnet for its Arc blockchain, a purpose-built Layer-1 blockchain designed for tokenized funds, cross-border payments, foreign exchange trading, and lending. The initial partner list includes heavyweights such as BlackRock, Visa, AWS, and AI company Anthropic among over 100 participants from finance, payments, and technology sectors.

The testnet has shown impressive performance numbers in its first 90 days, processing over 150 million transactions with an average settlement time of approximately 0.5 seconds. This is a notable improvement compared to traditional cross-border wire transfers, which can take anywhere from one to five business days.

Visa's involvement goes beyond lending its name; the payments giant plans to operate an Arc validator node and enhance its USDC settlement capabilities on the network.