Circle Launches Arc Mainnet With BlackRock, DTCC, Visa Validators

Circle has launched the public mainnet of Arc, a new Layer 1 blockchain designed for financial markets, and the validator lineup reads like a who’s who of global finance: BlackRock, DTCC, Visa, Mastercard, ICE, MoneyGram, Standard Chartered, Galaxy, SBI Group, Sumitomo Corporation and Worldpay/Global Payments are all named in the founding cohort. Circle announced the Arc mainnet on September 16, 2026, describing the network as an open Layer 1 built for real-time money movement, financial markets infrastructure and what it calls “agentic economic activity.” Transaction fees on Arc are paid in USDC. For related coverage, see Reserve Protocol Launches 5 AI-Themed Tokenized Equity DTFs on BNB Chain. Circle co-founder, chairman and CEO Jeremy Allaire called it the company’s most consequential release since USDC itself. “Arc is the single most significant launch in Circle’s history since USDC itself,” Allaire said in the official announcement. For related coverage, see Shein Launches Up to $2B Hong Kong IPO After Failed US and London Attempts. BlackRock, DTCC and Visa Are Named as Validators The phased founding validator cohort spans payments, asset management, market infrastructure and banking. BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, sits alongside DTCC, the central clearinghouse for US securities markets, and Visa, the global payments network. That combination alone would have seemed unlikely on a public blockchain just two years ago. For related coverage, see Bitcoin ETFs Post Worst Day Since June After Clarity Act Vote Fails. Circle says Arc uses a restricted proof-of-authority validator model, meaning block producers are known, permissioned entities rather than anonymous stakers. Developers and end users, however, can deploy contracts and send transactions without approval, according to The Defiant’s analysis of the validator and token design. The architecture separates who runs the network from who can use it. For related coverage, see US House Committee Advances Crypto Tax Bill in 38-5 Vote. Arc launched with more than 100 institutional and ecosystem partners on day one, Decrypt reported. Circle also minted 10 billion ARC tokens at genesis, though the company has not committed to a public token launch. For related coverage, see Hackers Hijack HBO Max Reddit Account to Push Crypto-Stealing Malware. USDC as Arc’s Gas Asset: Why It Matters Arc’s choice of USDC for transaction fees is a deliberate design signal. Banks and institutional trading desks care about predictable costs; a fee asset pegged to the dollar removes the volatility risk that comes with native tokens like ETH or SOL. USDC currently carries a market capitalization of roughly $73.68 billion, making it the second-largest stablecoin by supply and giving Arc’s fee market significant liquidity depth from day one. USDC market capitalization $73.68B Supplied market snapshot; USDC is Arc’s transaction-fee asset. Circle says Arc settles transactions deterministically in under one second.