Circle has named 11 external founding validators for Arc, its planned Layer 1 blockchain, placing major financial-market and payments companies at the center of a network designed to use USDC for transaction fees and settlement. The company expects to open Arc’s public mainnet on Sept. 16 after a private-mainnet phase involving more than 100 institutional and ecosystem builders.
The founding validator group includes BlackRock, Visa, Mastercard, The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, Galaxy, Global Payments, Intercontinental Exchange, MoneyGram, SBI Group, Standard Chartered and Sumitomo Corporation. Circle itself is also participating in Arc’s validator structure.
The selection gives Arc a distinctly institution-led model from launch. Rather than relying on a broad, anonymous set of node operators, Circle said the network’s validators will be established financial and payments organizations. That approach could appeal to firms seeking known counterparties and operational accountability for high-value settlement, though it also makes Arc more centralized than many public blockchain networks.
Arc will use USDC as its native gas token, meaning users would pay network fees directly in the dollar-pegged stablecoin instead of purchasing a separate volatile token for transactions. Circle has described the network as Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatible, allowing developers to adapt applications built for Ethereum, with sub-second transaction finality and optional privacy features.
BlackRock and DTCC use cases take shape
Circle said BlackRock, BNY, DTCC and Standard Chartered are developing applications related to tokenized-asset settlement, custody, stablecoin access, foreign-exchange infrastructure and repurchase agreements.
BlackRock is expected to deploy its BUIDL tokenized money-market fund on Arc, according to Circle. The planned integration would use USDC for BUIDL subscriptions and redemptions and support the fund’s onchain use within the Arc ecosystem. BUIDL has become one of the most prominent examples of a large traditional asset manager issuing a tokenized fund on public blockchain infrastructure.
The proposed DTCC connection is more distant. Circle said it is working with the market-infrastructure operator to enable tokenization of assets held at The Depository Trust Company, a DTCC subsidiary, beginning in the second half of 2027. Circle said third-party applications on Arc could use stablecoin settlement outside DTC while referencing DTC-tokenized assets.
That design suggests Arc is being positioned less as a replacement for existing securities-market infrastructure and more as a programmable settlement layer that could connect to it. The distinction may determine whether financial firms use the chain for limited pilot workflows or for operational functions involving tokenized collateral, fund shares and payments.
Circle said Arc has not been reviewed or approved by the New York State Department of Financial Services or any other regulator.
Payments and defi applications planned at launch
Circle listed Aave, Morpho and Uniswap among the decentralized-finance applications expected to be available when Arc opens publicly. The network is also set to launch with payments-oriented providers Rain, Thunes and Wirex, according to the company.
Wallet support is expected from Binance Wallet, Ledger and MetaMask. Together, the application and wallet roster gives Arc an immediate route to both institutional settlement experiments and retail-accessible decentralized finance, although the eventual level of user activity will depend on whether the network offers meaningful cost, speed or liquidity advantages over existing chains.
Circle first announced Arc in August 2025 and opened a public testnet in October. The company previously said it raised $222 million in an ARC token presale at a $3 billion fully diluted valuation in May.
The Arc initiative extends Circle’s role beyond operating USDC’s issuance and reserve model into ownership of the underlying transaction network. Using USDC for gas would embed the stablecoin into every activity on Arc, from simple transfers to tokenized-fund settlement and decentralized exchange trades. It could also create an additional source of network-related revenue if Arc attracts sustained application use.
USDC circulation rises as reserve yields ease
The validator announcement arrived alongside Circle’s second-quarter financial results. The company reported total revenue and reserve income of $701 million, up 7% from a year earlier. Net income from continuing operations was $48 million, improving by $530 million year over year, while adjusted EBITDA rose 8% to $143 million.
USDC in circulation reached $73.3 billion at the end of the quarter, a 19% year-over-year increase, Circle said. The company also reported $14.8 trillion in onchain transaction volume, up 151% from the previous year.
The figures show Circle’s stablecoin business continued to expand even as returns generated from reserves declined. Circle said its reserve return rate fell 66 basis points to 3.5%, reflecting the sensitivity of its revenue model to interest-rate conditions. More USDC in circulation can offset part of that pressure, but lower reserve yields leave the company with a stronger incentive to build revenue lines beyond interest earned on backing assets.
Circle raised its full-year other revenue outlook to between $310 million and $330 million, from previous guidance of $150 million to $170 million. It also increased its RLDC margin outlook, citing recognized revenue from the ARC token presale.
Trust-bank approvals add to Circle’s infrastructure plans
Circle also said it received final approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish Circle National Trust as a national trust bank. Separately, it said the New York Department of Financial Services approved a limited-purpose trust company.
Those approvals add regulated entities to Circle’s expanding infrastructure strategy as the company develops USDC distribution, custody-related services and its own blockchain. The national trust bank structure could support services that require a more direct place within the U.S. financial system, while Arc creates a technical environment where Circle can shape transaction rules and settlement flows.
CRCL shares rose about 7% in pre-market trading following the earnings release. The market response reflected the combination of improving profitability, growing USDC circulation and a concrete timeline for Arc’s public launch, though the network’s institutional validator design and tokenized-asset integrations will face their first practical test once mainnet activity begins.
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