Circle's Arc Blockchain Launches Sept 16 with Big-Name Validators

Circle is set to launch its layer-1 blockchain, Arc, on September 16, 2026. The network was designed specifically for institutional settlement, stablecoin payments, tokenized assets, and what Circle calls the agentic economy.

The founding validator cohort includes high-profile names such as BlackRock, Visa, Mastercard, and DTCC. Initially, Arc will operate under a proof-of-authority mechanism with approximately 20 permissioned validators, offering deterministic finality in under one second.

Fees on the network are denominated in USDC, eliminating the need for treasury teams to hold volatile assets solely to pay gas. The average weekly transaction cost recorded on the testnet was $0.004.