Circle Opens Arc Mainnet as It Pushes to Expand USDC Utility

A single USDC balance is used by the network for payments and fees, while greater demand would be needed for its rival to be overtaken.

Circle has scheduled Arc’s public launch for Sept. 16, providing USDC with a network where the same dollar balance can be used to cover payments and transaction fees. This could eliminate a common barrier to stablecoin adoption and give Circle another avenue to increase USDC demand as it competes with Tether.

The public-mainnet launch follows a private network that was reported by Circle in August to have attracted more than 100 ecosystem and institutional builders.

Arc’s public testnet was launched on Oct. 28, 2025. The next scheduled milestone is its transition to a public production network, where the platform’s design will be subjected to broader commercial testing.

One Balance Covers Payments and Fees#

Arc is a layer-1 blockchain, meaning its network is operated independently. According to its documentation, an Ethereum-compatible environment has been built around stablecoin activity, with USDC used to cover network fees and transactions designed to reach finality in under a second.

On many Ethereum-compatible networks, a user may hold enough USDC to complete a payment but still lack the separate token required for transaction fees. An additional asset must then be obtained, adding another step before the payment can be processed.

Arc’s USDC-based system brings these functions together. USDC can be held and transferred by users, while transaction fees can also be deducted from the same balance. Developers can continue using familiar Ethereum tools while creating applications in which both spending and fee requirements are handled through a single asset.

For payment-focused products, onboarding and balance management could be simplified through this approach. USDC would be given a role in every fee-paying transaction on the network, rather than simply being supported as an asset by an application.

The wallet integration guidance also states that USDC’s native and token interfaces represent the same underlying balance. They are designed as two access methods for a single holding, meaning the user’s funds could be counted twice if they were shown as separate balances.

This allows the transaction fee to be paid in the same asset that the user already plans to spend.

Arc combines open access for developers with a permissioned validator structure. Applications can be created by anyone under this framework, while the operators responsible for network validation are selected.

Circle’s announced founding validator group includes BlackRock, DTCC, Visa, Mastercard, Standard Chartered, and other financial institutions alongside Circle. Institutional participation is therefore built into the network’s operating structure.

For businesses exploring blockchain settlement, the proposed involvement of these institutions is one feature that sets Arc apart. However, open access to applications should not be interpreted as open participation in the network’s validator process.

The roster and private-mainnet builder numbers reflect participation, but the level of demand expected from the public launch cannot be determined from them alone.

Arc also promotes opt-in privacy features, but its execution documentation still identifies the Arc Privacy Sector and Stablecoin Services as planned features that are not yet available.

Arc’s Path to Greater USDC Demand#

Circle reported $73.3 billion in USDC circulation at the end of June, while Tether had approximately $184.6 billion in USDT issued at the same quarter-end. The figures highlight the difference in scale between the two stablecoins ahead of the scheduled launch.

Arc gives Circle a potential path toward broader adoption by making USDC the balance required for both financial applications and the transactions that support them. Payment activity and institutional settlement could encourage users to keep more funds available in USDC.

However, greater activity on Arc and stronger demand for USDC are not necessarily the same result. When an existing USDC balance is moved from another chain to Arc, only its network of use is changed, while paying fees in USDC creates another use case without demonstrating an increase in market share.

The real competitive test will be whether easier transactions lead customers to add more funds to USDC and continue using it. While a public network can provide the infrastructure needed for that shift, the launch itself cannot be taken as proof that it has occurred.