Crypto · updated 1h ago · 2 min read
Circle Launches Arc Mainnet With USDC Gas, BlackRock, DTCC, Visa Validators
Arc mainnet launched with USDC as native gas token. Eleven founding validators, including BlackRock and Visa, secured Arc.
All outlets broadly agree Arc launched with USDC-paid fees.
5 of 7 outlets skipped it: gate integrated Arc for 'zero-gas' trading and wallet support.
12outlets compared
Same story, two versions
tap a side to read it in full
The Cryptonomist
“Circle has flipped the switch on Arc, a brand-new Layer 1 blockchain where every transaction fee gets paid in USDC instead of a volatile crypto token.”Read the original ↗
Crypto News
“Arc supports twenty-two fiat stablecoins, while BUIDL, USYC, JAAA and JTRSY launch natively at launch.”Read the original ↗
One outlet spotlights USDC-fee rationale, another spotlights launch asset breadth.
Arc Mainnet Goes Live
Circle launched the public mainnet of Arc on Sept. 16, bringing its USDC-powered Layer 1 blockchain online with institutional validators and “deterministic sub-second settlement for financial applications.”
“deterministic sub-second settlement for financial applications.”
Circle said Arc uses USDC as its native gas asset, and it supports Ethereum Virtual Machine applications so developers can use Solidity contracts and familiar Ethereum development tools.
The launch followed an Arc testnet that processed more than 700 million transactions, and Circle’s second-quarter SEC filing recorded 502 million cumulative testnet transactions and 2.8 million transacting wallets as of June 30.
Circle also said it minted ten billion ARC tokens while stating no public token launch has occurred yet, and it previously agreed to sell 807.5 million ARC tokens privately for $242.2 million in proceeds.
In Circle’s framing, the network is designed for financial services including stablecoin payments and foreign exchange, and it pairs that model with deterministic sub-second finality rather than probabilistic confirmation periods.
Validators, Fees, and Tools
Circle said Arc is running under a permissioned Proof-of-Authority model at launch, with eleven institutional validators joining Circle initially, including BlackRock, DTCC, Visa, Mastercard and Standard Chartered.
The Cryptonomist described Arc as charging gas fees in USDC instead of a volatile crypto token, while Circle’s launch materials said fees are denominated and paid in USDC and the network is designed to keep costs predictable as transaction demand changes.T
Circle’s Arc mainnet uses chain ID 5042, and USDC functions as its native currency for gas accounting, while the network is EVM-compatible for Solidity applications and Ethereum tooling.
Circle connected Arc with Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol and Circle Gateway to extend asset movement and liquidity access across more than 20 supported blockchain networks.
In the same launch ecosystem, the Defiant said “Arc is the single most significant launch in Circle’s history since USDC itself,” quoting Jeremy Allaire’s statement from the announcement.
What’s at Risk Next
Circle’s day-one asset list includes 22 fiat-linked stablecoins, and it also made tokenized financial products available natively including BlackRock’s BUIDL, Circle’s USYC, and Janus Henderson’s JAAA and JTRSY.
“minting does not imply a commitment to its launch.”
Circle said USYC is available only to non-U.S. persons under its Securities Act definition, with further eligibility restrictions possible, and it said access restrictions still apply to individual products.
Circle said Arc’s fee design removes the need for users to hold a separate volatile network asset to submit ordinary transactions, and it described deterministic finality as not relying on probabilistic confirmation periods associated with some other blockchain systems.
The Cryptonomist said Circle minted 10 billion ARC tokens this week as a genesis minting and emphasized that “minting does not imply a commitment to its launch,” while also stating the token is not yet traded and no listing date has been set.T
As Arc expands, Circle said it is exploring a transition from Proof of Authority to Proof of Stake in 2027, and the network’s public mainnet is being marked with a livestream from New York with mainstage programming running from 6:00 to 7:45 PM GMT.