Circle launched Arc, an EVM-compatible layer-1 blockchain for financial markets, with Morpho as its primary lending engine and more than $150 million deposited on the first day across USDC and EURC vaults. Institutions and other users can borrow USDC or EURC against cirBTC, Circle’s 1:1 Bitcoin-backed wrapped token, retaining Bitcoin exposure without selling the underlying asset. Arc uses USDC for native gas and settlement, while Morpho provides permissionless variable-rate lending markets and APIs for fintech applications; Circle says Morpho Midnight, a fixed-rate product, is planned for the network.