Circle launches Arc mainnet with USDC as native gas token
Circle has launched the mainnet of Arc, a layer-1 blockchain designed for stablecoin payments and financial markets, including agentic transactions. Arc uses USDC as its native gas token, is EVM-compatible, and provides sub-second deterministic finality. It supports more than 20 fiat stablecoins, including USDC, EURC, JPYC, KRW1, and TRYB, and natively integrates tokenized assets such as BlackRock’s BUIDL and Circle’s USYC. Arc also connects with more than 20 blockchains through Circle’s CCTP and Gateway. Circle positions Arc as infrastructure for programmable money, global markets, and agent-based economic activity. The launch follows a testnet phase with participation from major firms, and Circle says the network may move from Proof of Authority to Proof of Stake in 2027. Circle also completed a genesis mint of 10 billion ARC tokens, but that does not mean a public token launch is planned.
