Arc launches as full-stack financial platform with USDC as native gas token

Circle just did something the stablecoin industry has been building toward for years: it launched its own blockchain, and it made USDC the fuel that runs it.

Arc, Circle’s new Layer-1 network, went live on public mainnet on September 16, 2026, positioned not as another general-purpose chain but as what Circle calls an “Economic OS for the Internet.” This isn’t a platform trying to be everything to everyone. It’s built specifically for payments, tokenized assets, lending, and trading, and USDC is baked in at the infrastructure level from day one.

What Arc actually is

USDC isn’t just supported on Arc. It’s the native gas token, meaning every transaction fee on the network is denominated in dollars. Arc targets roughly one cent per transaction, and because fees are paid in USDC, that price stays predictable.

The network delivers sub-second deterministic finality. It’s also EVM-compatible, so developers can port existing Ethereum-based applications without rewriting their code from scratch. Arc also connects to over 20 other blockchains out of the gate.

USDC on Arc runs in two formats: a native 18-decimal version for on-chain transfers and a 6-decimal ERC-20 version for application-layer use. It also supports other fiat stablecoins, including EURC, Circle’s euro-denominated token.

The institutional lineup is the real headline

Arc’s validator set includes BlackRock, Visa, HSBC, and DTCC, among others, with over 100 institutions participating as validators and ecosystem builders on day one.

DTCC, the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation, settles the overwhelming majority of US securities trades. Its presence on Arc suggests the network is being considered for securities settlement infrastructure.

Prior to mainnet launch, Arc’s testnet recorded over 700 million transactions.

USDC on Coinbase and what comes next

One gap in the launch: direct USDC transfers on Coinbase aren’t live yet. Users can currently move USDC onto Arc through alternative bridging routes, and Coinbase support is on the roadmap.

Circle has minted an initial supply of 10 billion ARC tokens, the network’s governance and staking token. A public trading timeline for ARC hasn’t been confirmed. Plans for a Proof-of-Stake mechanism, where ARC token holders would participate in network security, are being explored for 2027.

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