Overview
Base-layer blockchain networks where consensus, settlement, and native gas economics are defined at the protocol level. Institutional finance increasingly explores purpose-built L1s for stablecoin rails.
Timeline
- 2026-09-16: circle launches arc-blockchain public mainnet — EVM L1 with usdc native gas, chain ID 5042, permissioned institutional validators (2026-09-16-circle-arc-mainnet-launch)
- Founding validators: blackrock, dtcc, visa, mastercard, Galaxy, ICE, MoneyGram, SBI, Standard Chartered, Sumitomo, Global Payments
Key Players
- circle — Arc, USDC issuer
- blackrock — BUIDL tokenized fund deployment on Arc
- visa, mastercard — payment network validators
Analysis
Arc represents stablecoin-native L1 design: fees in dollars (USDC), sub-second finality, institutional validator cohort. Distinct from general-purpose chains — optimized for financial markets and agentic-finance payments.
ARC coordination token (10B minted) is not a public fee token; counterfeit ARC tokens reported post-launch ( 2026-09-17-circle-arc-mainnet-stablecoin-insider).