Circle is scheduled to open Arc’s public mainnet on September 16, 2026, following private operation with more than 100 institutional and ecosystem builders. The stablecoin-focused blockchain is valued at $3 billion on a fully diluted basis after ARC token presales raised roughly $242.2 million. Its founding validator group includes BlackRock, DTCC, Visa, Mastercard, Intercontinental Exchange, Standard Chartered, Galaxy, MoneyGram, SBI Group and Circle. Arc will initially use permissioned Proof-of-Authority consensus, with Circle saying it may later transition to Proof-of-Stake or delegated Proof-of-Stake. The network is designed for stablecoin payments, tokenized assets, foreign exchange and always-on financial markets, using USDC for transaction fees and targeting sub-second finality, configurable privacy and EVM compatibility. Circle’s existing USDC distribution provides a sizable starting user and liquidity base: USDC circulation stood at $73.3 billion at the end of the second quarter, while quarterly onchain transaction volume reached $14.8 trillion and revenue and reserve income totaled $701 million. Zerion plans immediate API support for Arc, while Aave, Morpho and Uniswap are expected to integrate at launch. Circle also plans to introduce tools for tokenized real-world assets, AI-assisted smart-contract development and reusable onchain application frameworks.