Circle launched the public mainnet of its Arc blockchain on September 16. The platform is designed for stablecoin payments, tokenized assets, and capital markets. At launch, the network supports over 100 active applications, including Aave and Uniswap, with plans for BlackRock to deploy tokenized investment products.
The network utilizes the Ethereum Virtual Machine, allowing developers to use Solidity. It features an average block time of 500 milliseconds with deterministic finality. Gas fees are paid exclusively in USDC, distinguishing the network from other Layer-1 solutions that rely on volatile native tokens.
The validator set consists of 11 major financial institutions, including Circle, BlackRock, DTCC, and Visa. Data infrastructure is supported by RedStone, Chainlink, and Pyth, providing a triple layer of oracle coverage for lending, foreign exchange, and derivatives.
Circle minted an initial supply of 10 billion ARC tokens, intended for future governance and network security, though no public distribution plan exists. The network operates under chain ID 5042 and plans to transition to a proof-of-stake consensus model by 2027.
