Circle's Arc Blockchain Launches with 100+ Partners Building Internet Financial Infrastructure
Circle's Arc Blockchain Launches with 100+ Partners Building Internet Financial Infrastructure
🏗️ Circle's new blockchain
Circle has unveiled Arc, a new blockchain network designed as infrastructure for the emerging Internet Financial System. The platform goes beyond stablecoins to create a unified layer connecting regulated digital assets, applications, and institutions.
Key Technical Features:
- Deterministic ~1 second finality for fast settlement
- Transaction fees denominated in USDC for predictable costs
- Built specifically for institutional and AI-native financial workflows
Early Traction: Over 100 partners are already building and testing on the network, signaling institutional interest in the infrastructure layer.
Strategic Context: Arc represents Circle's evolution from stablecoin issuer to full-stack financial infrastructure provider. The platform aims to serve as the "Economic OS for the internet," uniting programmable money with real-world economic activity. This follows USDC processing nearly $10T in onchain transaction volume in Q3 2025 and expanding to 30 blockchains.
The launch comes as regulatory clarity has accelerated institutional adoption of digital assets across payments, treasury, and capital markets.
The internet financial system isn’t built with a single product. It’s built with layers that reinforce each other. → Trusted digital assets power value. → Applications turn that value into real workflows. → @Arc unites programmable money and onchain innovation with real-world
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Building the infrastructure behind internet-native financial systems requires trust, scale, and time. @jerallaire joined @DM_Rubenstein at @TheEconomicClub to discuss Circle’s work on stablecoin rails and the foundations of global money movement.
Arc represents a shift beyond stablecoins alone. As finance and economic coordination move onto the internet, Arc provides the infrastructure layer that connects regulated stablecoins, applications, and institutions into a single system. → Deterministic ~1s finality →
For users and institutions, the promise is simple: faster, cheaper, always-on finance. But regulated stablecoins are just the beginning. A new system is taking shape. → @Arc, a new blockchain network designed as the Economic OS for the internet → Regulated digital assets
Arc was designed in 2025 to become the Economic OS for the internet. → Designed for deterministic sub-second finality → @USDC as native gas with predictable, fiat-denominated fees → Built for institutions, developers, and AI-native financial workflows → Backed by a growing
Circle’s Chief Strategy Officer @ddisparte shares, “USDC is emerging as the tokenized dollar backbone of the modern financial system,” in conversation with @scottmelker.
The internet financial system is here and stablecoins are at the core. Register and join our Executive Insights session, What the Internet Financial System Unlocks for Banks on Jan 26 at 10:00am ET. circle.com/webinars/what-…
Beyond stablecoins, a new financial system is taking shape. What began as an innovation in digital dollars has evolved into core financial infrastructure. In just a few years, regulatory clarity, institutional adoption, and onchain technology have converged. This report
A wave of commercial expansion took shape in 2025. As regulatory clarity advanced, institutions moved from exploring stablecoins to using them in real financial workflows. @USDC, EURC, and USYC began showing up across payments, treasury, settlement, and capital markets. What
USDC’s multichain expansion accelerated in 2025. → Natively available on 30 blockchains → 14 new networks added in a single year → Built to meet institutional scale and reliability requirements The goal wasn’t just reach. It was usability. CCTP, Gateway, and xReserve work
How can stablecoins expand financial access for the world’s most underserved? Circle’s Chief Strategic Engagement Officer, Elisabeth Carpenter, shared her perspective with the World Economic Forum, exploring how regulated stablecoins are already being used to widen access to
Stablecoins are emerging as foundational building blocks in the broader tokenization of real world assets. @ddisparte speaks on USDC becoming the onchain dollar infrastructure of the modern financial system with @scottmelker on The Wolf Of All Streets.
Capital markets are moving onchain. → 3x YoY growth in @USDC share of spot trading volume as of Sep 30, 2025 → Stablecoins powering settlement and market liquidity → 24/7 markets beyond legacy banking hours What was once conceptual is taking flight.
At @wef, @jerallaire discussed the growing role of stablecoins in the global financial system on a panel moderated by @gerardtbaker. As stablecoin transfers surpass traditional transfers, the focus has shifted from experimentation to infrastructure reshaping payments,
Trust is the foundation of any financial system. As regulatory clarity accelerated in 2025, institutions increasingly looked for digital assets that could operate inside clear, enforceable rules. Circle was already built for that environment, with fully reserved stablecoins,
As billions of AI agents enter the global economy, the financial system must operate at internet speed and scale. At @wef, @jerallaire on why stablecoins are the only infrastructure built for that future.
🌐 AI Agents Need Frictionless Cross-Border Payments
**The Challenge of Autonomous Transactions** Circles CTO Li Fan highlighted a critical infrastructure gap at SXSW: while international calls became nearly free, cross-border payments remain expensive and slow. **Why This Matters Now** - AI agents will soon conduct autonomous transactions at massive scale - Current financial rails weren't designed for machine-to-machine payments - The velocity of money is expected to increase dramatically **What Needs to Change** The agentic economy requires: - Infrastructure built for internet-scale autonomous transactions - Reduced friction in cross-border money movement - New economic systems combining AI, stablecoins, and blockchains As AI agents begin transacting independently, the financial system must evolve to match the speed and efficiency already achieved in digital communications.
WheelX Enables Cross-Chain Stablecoin Activity Across 50+ Networks
**WheelX**, a Circle Alliance Program member, is facilitating cross-chain stablecoin operations across more than 50 blockchain networks. **Key Metrics:** - 45,000+ deployment transactions - 2,700+ swaps on Arc Testnet - Supporting stablecoin utility expansion across multiple chains The platform focuses on enabling seamless stablecoin movement and activity across different blockchain ecosystems, contributing to broader stablecoin adoption and interoperability. Learn more about the [Circle Alliance Program](https://www.circle.com/alliance-program).
The Evolution of Value Movement and Work in Web3
**The Convergence of Value and Work** Jeremy Allaire explores a fundamental shift happening in the digital economy: the parallel evolution of how value transfers and how work is organized. **Key Insights:** - Value movement and work structures are no longer separate systems—they're becoming interconnected - This convergence is reshaping traditional business models and organizational structures - Understanding this relationship is critical for navigating the next phase of digital transformation The connection between these two forces represents a foundational change in how we think about economic activity and collaboration in decentralized systems.
Circle Nanopayments Solves Sub-Cent Transaction Problem with Offchain Aggregation
**Circle Nanopayments** addresses a critical infrastructure gap for AI agent transactions by eliminating per-payment gas costs. **The Problem:** - Sub-cent payments fail when competing in traditional mempools - AI agents need to transact at fractions of a cent per API call, inference, or compute cycle - Traditional blockchain rails can't support this volume economically **The Solution:** - Agents sign **EIP-3009 authorizations** - Thousands of payments aggregate offchain - Batched settlement writes to chain - Zero gas cost per individual payment - Near-instant confirmation with onchain finality **Technical Details:** - Enables gas-free USDC transfers as small as **$0.000001** - Built on Circle Gateway - x402 compatible for agentic scale - Currently live on testnet This infrastructure supports emerging use cases like pay-per-call APIs, real-time compute billing, and machine-to-machine payments. By moving aggregation offchain while maintaining onchain settlement, Circle creates a financial rail designed specifically for autonomous agent economic activity. Learn more: [Circle Nanopayments](http://www.circle.com/blog/a-deep-dive-into-circle-nanopayments-gas-free-usdc-transfers)
AI Agents Could Fundamentally Reshape Corporate Organization and Economic Coordination
**Agentic AI is poised to transform economic coordination**, according to remarks at the Economic Club of New York. **Key implications:** - AI agents acting independently could lead to more efficient organizational structures - New corporate operating models may emerge as coordination mechanisms evolve - This represents a shift from AI as a tool to AI as an active economic participant The technology's ability to coordinate economic activity autonomously suggests we're entering a new phase where AI doesn't just assist but fundamentally changes how organizations function and make decisions.