Circle announced the launch of the Arc blockchain public testnet on Tuesday, marking a significant step toward institutional adoption of its payments-focused layer-one network. Over 100 financial institutions, asset managers, and technology firms have joined the trial, including BlackRock, Visa, HSBC, AWS, and Anthropic. The diversity of participants underscores growing interest in leveraging stablecoins and tokenized assets for cross-border payments and settlement.
Arc is designed to facilitate real-time settlement with sub-second finality and U.S. dollar-based fee structures that align with existing financial rails. The network’s architecture integrates privacy controls and governance mechanisms, allowing participants to experiment with programmable settlement and asset tokenization. By offering a developer-friendly environment, Circle aims to bridge the gap between traditional finance and decentralized protocols.
BlackRock’s head of digital assets noted that Arc’s capabilities for onchain foreign exchange and stablecoin settlement could unlock new efficiencies in capital markets. Visa is evaluating use cases around tokenized payments, while HSBC is exploring faster and more transparent international transfers. Institutional feedback during the testnet phase will inform the roadmap toward a fully decentralized governance model.
Academics and policy experts have raised questions about regulatory frameworks for permissionless networks handling stablecoins. Circle has committed to collaborating with regulators and industry consortia to ensure compliance standards are met. The launch event featured demonstrations of cross-chain interoperability, showcasing Arc’s ability to settle trades across Ethereum, Solana, and proprietary enterprise chains.
Looking ahead, Circle plans to open validator participation to community members and establish a public governance council. The company projects that Arc could handle billions of dollars in daily transaction volume once fully operational. The testnet phase will continue through Q1 2026, with a mainnet launch targeted for mid-year pending successful validation and security audits.
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