Circle has officially launched the mainnet for its Arc blockchain, designed specifically for institutional financial markets, rapid transactions, and operations involving autonomous AI agents.
Arc Mainnet is live.
Arc launches as the Economic OS for the internet: an open platform for global markets, real-time value movement, tokenized assets, and agentic economic activity.
Arc is more than a blockchain.
It launches as a full-stack financial platform with assets,… pic.twitter.com/SWg0NlUijO
— Arc (@arc) September 16, 2026
Gas fees within the new network can be paid directly using the USDC stablecoin, eliminating the need to purchase a volatile native token. Arc is fully compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), enables transaction finalization in under a second, and supports post-quantum signature algorithms. Future updates will introduce selective privacy tools with view keys for auditing purposes.
This blockchain functions as a comprehensive financial platform, incorporating infrastructure for:
- Issuance and trading of Real World Assets (RWA);
- Lending and borrowing;
- On-chain trading and liquidity provision;
- Currency operations and international settlements;
- Functioning of exchanges, wallets, and custodial services.
The network is integrated with all of Circle’s key products, including the cross-chain protocol CCTP, payment gateways Gateway and CPN, the StableFX system, the Arc Portal platform, and developer tools.
Validators for the network include major financial institutions such as BlackRock, DTCC, ICE, Mastercard, Visa, SBI Group, and Standard Chartered. At launch, over 100 applications and services are operational within the ecosystem. Partners of the project include exchanges like Binance and Coinbase, along with DeFi protocols such as Uniswap, Aave, and Morpho.
The Arc architecture is tailored for software agents, with the Circle Agent Stack infrastructure allowing AI bots to manage wallets, execute micropayments, and securely handle sensitive data. According to the issuer, USDC currently accounts for the vast majority of transactions between agents.
Circle has also issued 10 billion utility tokens called ARC. This asset is intended for governance and security during the planned transition from a Proof-of-Authority to a Proof-of-Stake algorithm in 2027. Transfer fees will continue to be charged in USDC. The company clarified that the issuance of these tokens does not imply an imminent public listing.
For developers, Circle introduced the AI assistant Arc Studio and the Arc App Kits toolset, enabling the rapid deployment of smart contracts and payment integration with minimal coding.
In May, Circle announced the upcoming launch of the ARC token and raised $222 million during a presale from a group of investors, including a16z crypto, BlackRock, and Apollo Funds. The network has been valued at $3 billion.