Circle, the second-largest stablecoin issuer globally, has launched the public testnet for Arc, its innovative layer-1 blockchain network aimed at bringing global financial infrastructure onchain.
This rollout, termed the “Economic Operating System for the internet” by Circle, sees involvement from over 100 major companies in banking, capital markets, and fintech, including BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, Visa, Mastercard, and State Street, as per a Tuesday announcement.
“With Arc’s public testnet, we’re witnessing impressive early momentum as leading companies, protocols, and projects commence building and testing,” remarked Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire. “These companies collectively serve billions of users and manage, exchange, and safeguard hundreds of trillions in assets and payments,” he continued.
Arc aims to deliver predictable US dollar-based fees, sub-second finality, and optional privacy controls, directly integrating with Circle’s USDC (USDC) stablecoin and payment infrastructure. It seeks to facilitate a wide array of financial applications, spanning lending, capital markets, global payments, and foreign exchange (FX).
Related: ClearBank to become one of first EU banks to join Circle Payments Network
Institutions join Circle’s Arc testnet
The testnet launch has garnered interest from significant institutions including Apollo, BNY Mellon, Intercontinental Exchange, and Deutsche Bank, along with global payment providers like Mastercard, FIS, Paysafe, and Nuvei.
According to Circle, Arc’s specially designed architecture connects local markets across continents, from Africa to the Americas and Asia, offering enterprise-grade infrastructure for both traditional financial institutions and Web3-native entities.
Another significant aspect of Arc is its contribution to stablecoin infrastructure. The network accommodates fiat-pegged tokens, tokenized funds, and FX liquidity, with issuers from seven countries, including JPYC (Japan), BRLA (Brazil), MXNB (Mexico), and PHPC (Philippines), participating in the testnet.
Arc’s ecosystem extends beyond finance, collaborating with leading developer and infrastructure providers such as MetaMask, Fireblocks, Chainlink, Alchemy, and LayerZero, alongside cross-chain bridges like Wormhole and Stargate.
AI integration is also part of their development roadmap, with Anthropic’s Claude Agent SDK set to enhance the developer experience through AI-powered tools.
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Circle to connect global markets
Allaire stated that Arc is “intentionally designed to connect every local market to the global economy,” emphasizing the opportunity for various companies to “develop on enterprise-grade network infrastructure.”
Circle aims to eventually transition Arc into a community-governed network, increasing validator participation and ensuring transparent governance.
Circle had announced its intention to launch Arc in August, at which time they indicated the network would utilize USDC as its native gas token. Last week, Allaire also revealed that Circle is working on private stablecoins within Arc.
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