Circle launches Arc mainnet with USDC as native gas token

9/16/2026

Arc mainnet powers stablecoin payments with USDC fees, EVM support, and sub-second finality for financial markets and tokenized assets.

Circle has launched the mainnet for Arc, a layer1 blockchain designed for stablecoin payments and financial market use cases. The network uses USDC to pay transaction fees and is built with EVM compatibility and subsecond finality. Arc supports more than 20 fiat stablecoins, including USDC, EURC, JPYC, KRW1 and TRYB. It also natively supports tokenized assets such as BlackRock’s BUIDL and Circle’s USYC, and connects to more than 20 blockchains through Circle’s CrossChain Transfer Protocol and Gateway. Circle said the launch follows the network’s public testnet in 2025 and private mainnet participation from more than 100 institutions and ecosystem builders. The company also said Arc is intended to support programmable money and plans to expand network participation over time, with a possible move from Proof of Authority to Proof of Stake in 2027.