Circle’s Bold Vision: Regulated Stablecoins Poised to Become the Next Global Settlement Layer
Forget SWIFT. Forget correspondent banking. The future of moving value across borders might just be a stablecoin.
The New Settlement Rails
Major players are pushing a radical idea: regulated digital dollars, euros, and yen, living on public blockchains, could form the backbone of a new global financial system. This isn't about replacing cash—it's about rebuilding the plumbing. It promises 24/7 operation, near-instant settlement, and costs measured in cents, not percentages. The old guard's multi-day, fee-laden processes suddenly look like sending a letter by horse.
Regulation as a Feature, Not a Bug
The key shift? Embracing oversight. Proponents argue that fully-reserved, transparent stablecoins, blessed by regulators, provide the trust and stability needed for institutional adoption. It's the Trojan horse strategy—using compliance to gain access to the heart of the traditional system. After all, nothing makes a banker more comfortable than another layer of compliance paperwork.
The Frictionless Future (With Old-World Hurdles)
The potential is staggering. Imagine cross-border trade settling in seconds. Imagine remittances where the fee doesn't eat the gift. But the path is littered with legacy systems, political turf wars, and the eternal struggle between innovation and control. The biggest barrier isn't technology—it's the entrenched interests that profit from the friction.
A global settlement layer built on code, not corridors? It would be the ultimate irony: the most disruptive force in finance succeeding by playing by the old money's rules—at least at first.
USDC grew its market share in 2025
USDC was aggressively minting new tokens in 2025, boosting its presence on multiple networks. The stablecoin expanded its market share each quarter, reaching 29% at the end of the year.
In terms of transfer volumes, USDC carries around 40% of value, remaining the second-biggest player on the stablecoin market after USDT.
Circle also launched several stablecoins denominated in other currencies. EURC is the leading asset, growing its supply more than eight times following the launch of MiCA regulation in 2024. Circle was one of the stablecoin issuers to benefit from the new regulations, as its tokens were adopted on multiple frameworks for EU users.
Circle to launch the Arc payment infrastructure
Circle is going beyond being a plain issuer of stablecoins, instead building a new financial infrastructure.
Circle is preparing to launch Arc, a scalable blockchain and a native infrastructure for payments. Circle will compete with other chains like Polygon, which are also creating dedicated payment rails. The chain will also compete with Tether’s Plasma, a dedicated stablecoin network.
Arc may MOVE beyond payments and into capital formation, contracts, and payroll coordination. Arc will transfer stablecoins, but also turn into an entire economic operating system. Arc will use USDC to pay transaction fees, requiring even simple asset ownership.
The chain will also use deterministic finality instead of node coordination for increased security and compliance with financial standards. Arc has been running as a testnet since October 2025 and is already spread across the major regions for on-chain activity.
Circle enters a market with accelerating competition, where fintech apps and on-chain payment channels are consolidating. The trend includes leading apps like Revolut, as well as smaller on-chain native stablecoin hubs and wallets.
The smartest crypto minds already read our newsletter. Want in? Join them.
