Circle Launches Its Own Layer-1 Blockchain That Uses USDC As Native Gas Token

The issuer behind one of the top stablecoins on the market is announcing a successful second quarter of 2025 while launching a new blockchain.

Circle, the company behind the USDC stablecoin, announced on Tuesday the launch of Arc – a new layer-1 blockchain designed to support regulated financial services and real-world asset applications.

The announcement comes only weeks after Circle’s successful initial public offering (IPO) launch.

Says Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire,

“I’m proud of Circle’s performance in the second quarter, our first as a public company, where we demonstrated sustained growth and adoption of our platform across a multitude of use cases and with a diverse set of industry-defining partners.

Circle’s successful IPO in June marked a pivotal moment—not just for our company, but for the broader adoption of stablecoins and the growth of the new internet financial system. This is an extraordinary moment for our company and industry, and we are seeing accelerating interest in building on stablecoins and partnering with Circle across every significant sector of the financial industry, with major internet companies and commercial engagement all around the world.”

Arc will use USDC as its native gas token, allowing users to pay fees directly with the stablecoin.

Aimed at institutional-grade use cases, Arc will attempt to deliver fast settlement finality, privacy features tailored for compliance, and an integrated foreign exchange system for stablecoin conversions. The network will be Ethereum (ETH)-compatible and aims to be optimized for stablecoin payments, tokenized assets, and capital markets infrastructure.

Circle said Arc will be governed by a new foundation and will operate as a public, permissionless blockchain. A testnet is expected to launch in the fall, with broader access to follow.

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