Circle launches Arc mainnet with USDC as native gas token

Circle has launched Arc, a layer-1 blockchain designed for stablecoin payments and financial-market use, with USDC set as the network's native gas token. Arc offers EVM compatibility, deterministic sub-second finality, support for more than 20 fiat stablecoins, and cross-chain links to over 20 blockchains via Circle's CCTP and Gateway.

By AI NewsroomPublished about 1 hour agoUpdated about 1 hour ago0 views

Why It Matters

By making USDC the native gas asset and focusing on stablecoin-native infrastructure, Circle aims to create faster, settlement-focused rails for institutional payments and programmable finance — a move that could reshape how tokenized assets and cross-border transfers are executed. The launch aggregates institutional interest already shown during Arc's testnet phases and signals a possible shift toward broader blockchain-enabled market infrastructure.

Key Facts

Project: Arc (layer-1 blockchain) — launched mainnet by Circle
Native gas token: USDC
Compatibility: Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatible
Settlement finality: Deterministic sub-second finality
Stablecoin support: Supports more than 20 fiat stablecoins (including USDC, EURC, JPYC, KRW1, TRYB)

Circle has activated the Arc mainnet, positioning the network as a layer-1 blockchain optimized for stablecoin payments and financial-market activity. Circle configured USDC to serve as Arc’s native gas asset and described the chain as built to support programmable money and "agentic" economic transactions in a public blog post and on X.

Technically, Arc is EVM-compatible and engineered for deterministic settlement finality measured in sub-seconds, features Circle says are intended to speed transaction processing for markets and payments. The network also natively supports tokenized assets, with examples such as BlackRock’s BUIDL and Circle’s own USYC available on the chain.

Arc can handle more than 20 fiat stablecoins and provides interoperability with over 20 other blockchains through Circle’s Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP) and its Gateway. Circle highlighted broad participation during development: the public testnet launched in October 2025 with more than 100 companies involved, including institutions such as BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, Mastercard and Visa, and the private mainnet also saw participation from over 100 institutional and ecosystem builders.

Looking ahead, Circle said it plans to expand network participation in operations and is considering a shift from the current Proof of Authority model toward Proof of Stake in 2027. The company also completed a genesis mint of 10 billion ARC tokens this week but clarified that the mint does not commit Circle to a public token launch.