Circle's Arc Mainnet Launches with Big Finance Backing

Circle has launched its Arc mainnet, a Layer 1 blockchain designed to power financial markets and stablecoin payments. The network went live on September 16 with over 100 applications and 100+ institutions participating in the ecosystem.

Arc uses USDC as gas, eliminating the need for volatile gas prices. The network boasts sub-second finality and post-quantum signatures. It is EVM-compatible and supports Ethereum-compatible Solidity contracts and tooling.

The validator group includes founding members BlackRock, DTCC, Galaxy, ICE, Mastercard, MoneyGram, SBI Group, Standard Chartered, Sumitomo Corporation, Visa, and Worldpay, a subsidiary of Global Payments. Banks, asset managers, exchanges, custodians, payments companies, and DeFi protocols have committed to building on or integrating with the Arc network.