Circle’s Arc Blockchain Breaks Cover as USDC Market Cap Rockets Past $65B

Stablecoin giant Circle just dropped a bombshell—its proprietary Arc blockchain is live, and the timing couldn't be more strategic. USDC's circulation just smashed through $65 billion, proving even TradFi refugees are finally learning to love dollar-pegged tokens (when they're not busy shorting them).

The Arc Factor: More Than Just a Sidechain?

This isn't just another Ethereum L2 clone. Circle's pitching Arc as a purpose-built highway for institutional stablecoin flows—because apparently settling $65 billion in transactions on legacy chains was starting to feel like moving a Brinks truck through a bike lane.

USDC's Dominance Play

That $65 billion figure isn't just a vanity metric. It's a direct challenge to Tether's throne, wrapped in regulatory-friendly packaging. Wall Street's starting to notice—though they'll probably still call it 'that crypto dollar thing' in board meetings.

The Bottom Line

Circle's playing 4D chess while everyone else fights over gas fees. With Arc, they're not just hosting the party—they're building the entire financial infrastructure. Just don't expect bankers to admit they're using it until 2030.

• Circle launches Arc, a new blockchain built for enterprise stablecoin use.
• USDC circulation jumps 90% year-over-year, hitting $65.2B in August.
• Strong revenue growth comes despite IPO-related losses.

Circle has introduced Arc, an open Layer-1 blockchain aimed at handling large-scale payments, foreign exchange, and capital markets transactions.

Built to work with the ethereum Virtual Machine, Arc uses USDC as its native gas token. The network is designed with features like a stablecoin FX engine, fast settlement in under a second, and privacy options suited for institutional use.

Introducing Arc, the home for stablecoin finance.@Arc is an open Layer-1 blockchain purpose-built to drive the next chapter of financial innovation powered by stablecoins.

Designed to provide an enterprise-grade foundation for payments, FX, and capital markets, Arc delivers… pic.twitter.com/Z8FHUls1xY

Arc will be fully integrated into the network’s existing platform and will remain compatible with other partner blockchains. Its public testnet is expected to launch this fall.

The release builds on the momentum from the Circle Payments Network, launched in May, which already has more than 100 financial institutions lined up.

Partnerships with major names such as Binance, Corpay, FIS, Fiserv, and OKX are expanding the network’s role in both the crypto and traditional finance sectors.

Q2 Results Show Strong USDC Growth

During the second quarter of the 2025 fiscal year, USDC in circulation hit $61.3 billion, up 90% from the comparable quarter of the previous year. As of August 10, it was up another 6.4% to $65.2 billion.

Total revenue and reserve income ROSE 53% to $658 million, and adjusted EBITDA rose 52% to $126 million, boosted by rising demand for USDC.

The company finished a $1.2 billion IPO in June by offering 19.9 million new shares at $31 apiece and collecting $583 million after underwriting commissions.

However, the listing led to significant non-cash expenses, including $424 million in stock-based compensation and a $167 million increase in convertible debt value due to a higher share price.

These charges gave rise to a net loss of $482 million during the quarter. Despite this, reserve income increased 50% compared to the previous year, and other sources of revenue increased by more than 250%.

GENIUS Act Boosts Circle’s Compliance-Driven Stablecoin Strategy

The recently enacted GENIUS Act created a federal regulatory regime for payment stablecoins, which was consistent with Circle’s compliance-oriented approach.

In July, the firm rolled out Circle Gateway on testnet, and this enables cross-chain liquidity instantly without bridging or even prepaid funds.

Commercial adoption continues to grow. Binance deepened its integration with Circle technology and introduced USYC for institutional trading collateral. Corpay connected its global FX and card network with USDC for round-the-clock settlement.

FIS integrated the network’s infrastructure into its Money Movement Hub to enable faster domestic and cross-border payments. OKX started providing direct USD-to-USDC conversions to its 60 million global users.