Circle Launches Arc Mainnet for USDC Settlement

Circle, the Boston-based issuer of the USDC stablecoin, has launched the Arc mainnet, moving the network into live production as an environment for on-chain US dollar settlement and developer activity.

Arc is designed to let wallets, exchanges and developers run nodes, deploy smart contracts and move USDC on-chain. The network is positioned as a dedicated infrastructure for tokenized-dollar transactions and value settlement using Circle’s USD Coin.

The company released Arc after internal development and testing phases and says the mainnet is open to production use. Technical documentation published by Circle explains how teams can migrate or build applications on Arc and outlines procedures for node operators and validators.

Circle provided guidance for integrating USDC flows on Arc and for enabling user access from custodial and non-custodial wallets. The network’s architecture aims to work with common smart contract environments and existing developer tooling to simplify deployment and operations.

Circle described target use cases including cross-border payments, instant settlement for financial services and programmable business-to-business billing that require a stable unit of account. The company also detailed compliance and operational controls intended for institutional custody and settlement needs.

Founded in 2013, Circle is one of the primary issuers of USDC, a dollar-pegged stablecoin widely used across trading, lending and payments. The Arc mainnet represents Circle’s effort to provide a purpose-built network where USDC can be natively issued and transferred. Circle has published reserve attestations for USDC and works with custodians and auditors while engaging with regulators and financial institutions on tokenized-dollar use and compliance.