Circle has just confirmed that Arc will launch its public mainnet on September 16, 2026. Beyond simply being a Layer 1, it seems Arc’s ambitions are much bigger, with a formidable lineup of backers.
1. The names behind Arc
- From day one, the network will have a group of founding validators consisting of a host of leading financial institutions in the world such as: BlackRock, DTCC, Visa, Mastercard, ICE, Standard Chartered, SBI Group, Galaxy, MoneyGram, Global Payments, Sumitomo Corporation
=> These organizations not only use blockchain, but directly participate in validating and securing the network. This is quite different from most blockchains today.
2. USDC will become the Gas Token
- Another difference is that $USDC will be used as an asset to pay for transaction fees (Gas). This means businesses no longer need to hold a separate token just to pay fees, and transaction costs can also be more stable thanks to being priced in stablecoins.
- Arc also targets organizational requirements for finality in under 1 second, privacy options, and the ability to meet compliance requirements.
3. An ecosystem built from the start
- In addition to validators, Circle also announced a number of partners who will support Arc as soon as the mainnet launches.
- In the DeFi space, there are names like Aave, Morpho, Uniswap, FalconX, GSR...
- In infrastructure and wallets, there are Chainlink, Fireblocks, MetaMask, Ledger, Binance Wallet, Kraken...
=> In particular, BlackRock is expected to bring the tokenized fund BUIDL to Arc, while DTCC also plans to roll out infrastructure for tokenized assets in the next phase.
4. Will the $ARC token be available right away? What is the token for?
- Although there is a whitepaper, Circle has not yet confirmed whether the token will be issued together with the public mainnet on September 16.
- The ARC token is used for Staking, Governance, fee sharing and burn,... while the gas on the network will use USDC
- The functions, utilities, and the launch timing are still being finalized and may change
=> This is a fairly new model that completely separates the token used and the token accumulated in value.
5. Personal perspective
- Arc is seen as a strategic move to help Circle expand into blockchain infrastructure for RWA, stablecoins, payments, and AI Agents.
- Circle also received a Federal Trust Bank Charter, strengthening its position in digital finance. They are gradually transforming from a stablecoin issuer into an on-chain financial infrastructure provider.
- What the $ARC token will be like in the future has to wait until it launches, then we’ll evaluate further.
- What do you think, guys?