Circle has launched its own Layer 1 blockchain, Arc, which went live on September 16, 2026. The company deployed $649 million in USDC and $7 million in EURC to provide initial liquidity to the network.
The blockchain uses USDC as the native gas token, with transaction fees targeting approximately $0.01. Arc offers sub-second deterministic finality and supports over 22 fiat-linked stablecoins, alongside the StableFX product for atomic foreign exchange settlement.
The network launched with more than 100 institutional participants, including banks, asset managers, and DeFi protocols. Founding validators announced on August 5, 2026, include BlackRock, Visa, and Mastercard, with projects like Aave and Morpho already building on the chain.
Circle performed a genesis mint of 10 billion ARC tokens. A pre-launch sale raised approximately $222 million, valuing the project at $3 billion on a fully diluted basis, with early tokens priced at roughly $0.022 each.
