Arc's "Economic OS" Enters Public Testnet with 100+ Institutions

Circle's Arc Blockchain Enters Public Testnet with 100+ Institutional Partners

Circle Internet Group has launched the public testnet for Arc, its newly developed Layer-1 blockchain designed to streamline institutional-grade financial applications. The network, which uses USDC as its native gas token, now boasts over 100 participating institutions, including major banks, asset managers, and technology firms like Visa, HSBC, BlackRock, and Anthropic, according to a CryptoBriefing report. The testnet phase aims to validate Arc's capabilities in enabling instant settlements, privacy features, and compliance-driven stablecoin ecosystems for enterprise finance.

Arc positions itself as an "Economic Operating System" for the internet, offering sub-second transaction finality, configurable privacy options, and integration with Circle's existing stablecoin infrastructure. The blockchain is designed to support use cases spanning lending, capital markets, foreign exchange, and global payments, with a focus on reducing friction in institutional workflows, as noted in a Lookonchain post. Jeremy Allaire, Circle's CEO, emphasized that Arc's geographic diversity—spanning Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas—highlights its potential to connect local markets to global economic systems.

The testnet rollout includes participation from leading capital markets firms such as Apollo, BNY Mellon, and State Street, as well as banks like Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs. Technology partners like AWS, Cloudflare, and Mastercard are also testing Arc's architecture, which supports agentic AI systems for real-time value transfers. Notably, Arc's roadmap includes infrastructure for fiat stablecoins, tokenized equities, and money market funds, with digital asset issuers from Australia, Brazil, and Japan joining the testnet, according to a MarketScreener report.

A key innovation is Arc's integration of stablecoins as gas fees, leveraging USDC's role in facilitating low-cost, high-speed transactions. This approach aligns with Circle's broader strategy to expand stablecoin adoption in traditional finance, particularly under evolving regulatory frameworks like the EU's MiCA regulations. The company also highlighted partnerships with custodians like BitGo and Taurus, underscoring Arc's focus on institutional security and compliance, as noted in the MarketScreener report.

Circle's public testnet launch follows months of development, including a private testing phase with select partners. The company has allocated significant resources to developer tooling, with wallets like MetaMask and infrastructure providers like Chainlink already integrating Arc. Additionally, major crypto exchanges such as Coinbase and Kraken plan to expand access to Arc-based assets, signaling growing industry buy-in, based on the MarketScreener coverage.

Looking ahead, Circle envisions transitioning Arc into a distributed, community-governed network. While the company currently stewards the blockchain, Allaire stated that validator participation and transparent governance frameworks will expand over time. This evolution aims to position Arc as a neutral, open-layer infrastructure for global economic activity.