PhotonPay Joins Arc to Build Internet's Next-Gen Economic OS

PhotonPay, an AI-powered financial infrastructure provider, has joined Circle's Arc public testnet, a Layer-1 blockchain network designed to digitize real-world economic activity and evolve into a next-generation Economic Operating System (OS) for the internet. This collaboration, alongside global payments and fintech innovators, marks a pivotal step in developing open, programmable financial infrastructure, signaling a shift toward blockchain-driven solutions for modernizing global payment systems.

Arc, which supports diverse use cases across lending, capital markets, and international payments, offers predictable dollar-based fees, sub-second transaction finality, and optional privacy configurations according to reports. PhotonPay, trusted by over 200,000 businesses globally, aims to leverage Arc's capabilities to bridge traditional finance with blockchain innovation, enhancing transparency, security, and efficiency in financial ecosystems according to the report. The integration aligns with Circle's broader vision for the Circle Payment Network (CPN), which seeks to enable seamless, real-time currency exchange and embed it as a foundational primitive for financial institutions according to earnings data.

Circle's CEO Jeremy Allaire emphasized Arc's potential as an "enterprise-grade, regulatory-ready infrastructure" for financial institutions, noting its alignment with CPN's goals to expand local currency support and facilitate atomic swaps according to the earnings call. The Arc testnet already hosts regional stablecoin issuers, such as Avenia and Juno, expanding currency pair availability on Circle's StableFX platform. This move underscores the growing momentum for blockchain in institutional finance, with major players like Franklin Templeton and BlackRock also advancing tokenized asset strategies.

The partnership highlights a broader industry trend: institutional adoption of blockchain to streamline cross-border payments, reduce friction, and enhance interoperability. PhotonPay's participation in Arc's testnet reflects its commitment to scalable, customizable solutions, including global payouts and embedded finance, while Circle's Arc aims to become the backbone of a decentralized financial infrastructure according to the announcement. As regulators like the FDIC explore frameworks for tokenized deposits and stablecoins according to industry reports, the convergence of traditional and blockchain-based finance appears increasingly inevitable.