Circle, the global financial technology firm behind the USDC stablecoin, today announced the launch of Arc, a purpose-built Layer 1 blockchain that will use USDC as its native gas token. The company plans to debut Arc on a public testnet this fall, marking a significant post-IPO milestone aimed at shaping the future of stablecoin-based infrastructure.
Arc will be an EVM-compatible, enterprise-level blockchain specifically streamlined to support stablecoin payments, foreign exchange (FX), and capital market use cases. Viewed as the lower layer, Arc will provide sub-second settlement, opt-in privacy, a native stablecoin FX engine, and uninterrupted access to the Circle platform. It will also be interoperable with the current partner chains, placing circulation farther along the digital finance landscape.
“I’m proud of Circle’s performance in the second quarter, our first as a public company, where we demonstrated sustained growth and adoption of our platform across a multitude of use cases and with a diverse set of industry-defining partners,” said Jeremy Allaire, Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman of Circle.
USDC as Core Infrastructure
Circle USDC, the most trusted U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin in the world today, has a market share of 260 billion globally, with USDC representing 65 billion of those stablecoins. By picking USDC as the default currency for Arc Gas, Circle is strengthening its USDC vision as both a means of exchange and, more importantly, a centralized utility asset for next-generation financial applications.
EVM compatibility means that developers can access the same tools and familiar Ethereum-based tooling they are used to, but with the benefit of a production-grade system architecture at Circle.
Growing Momentum Across the Industry
Circle is not the first to make such a move. Stablecoin-focused blockchains (Stable and Plasma) are also being supported by Tether, the world’s largest stablecoin issuer, which is a sign of growing interest in tailored infrastructure to support the specific needs of fiat-backed digital assets.
The announcement of Arc is accompanied by the publicity of the Q2 2025 financial outcomes of Circle, which show great momentum in the business processes. Circulating supply of USDC increased by 90% on a year-over-year basis to a Q2 peak of $61.3 billion, rising further since then to $65.2 billion as of August 10. Total revenue and reserve revenue increased by 53% to 658 million, and other revenue grew daily by 252%. Furthermore, adjusted EBITDA rose 52% to $126 million, which demonstrates strong financial progress in the major business units.
Circle (CRCL) stock jumped over 14% as it hit $189 in early trading on Tuesday morning after the stablecoin issuer posted better-than-expected quarterly revenue for the first time since going public.
In spite of this excellent performance, Circle realized a net loss of 482 million, which was mainly caused by 591 million of non-cash IPO-related expenses, such as $424 million of stock-based compensation and $167 million of the revaluation of convertible debt.
Regulatory Momentum: GENIUS Act Signed into Law
Circle also shared a parallel event noting the significance of the recently signed GENIUS Act, which implements a federal regulatory framework on payment stablecoins and was signed into law by President Trump. According to Circle, the Act formalizes much of the compliance that the firm has long operated under and places it in the leadership position as a regulated stablecoin issuer in the United States.
Upcoming Earnings Call
Circle will report Q2 2025 earnings on Tuesday, August 12, at 8:00 a.m. ET, and the company executives will provide additional details about the Arc roadmap and business perspective.
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