BlackRock and Visa Join Forces! A Comprehensive Overview and Practical Guide to Circle's Arc Ecosystem

Author: Xiaobing

On September 16, Circle will officially launch the Arc public mainnet. The list of genesis validators for this chain reads more like a directory of global financial infrastructure: BlackRock, DTCC (Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation), ICE (Intercontinental Exchange), Visa, Mastercard, Standard Chartered, MoneyGram, Galaxy, Sumitomo Corporation, SBI Group, and Global Payments.

None of them are crypto-native projects.

This is not a coincidence. From the very beginning, Arc was not designed to answer the question of "how many L1s does the crypto world need"; it addresses another question: when stablecoins become the global payment pipeline, who will provide the underlying operating system for this pipeline?

Circle's answer is to build one themselves.

What is Arc?

Arc is a Layer 1 blockchain built by Circle, with its core positioning as the economic operating system (Economic OS) of the internet. It can be distinguished from the vast majority of L1s on the market by three technical features:

• USDC as the native gas token. This is the fundamental design decision of Arc. All on-chain transaction fees are priced in USD and paid in USDC. For traditional financial institutions, this means that transaction costs are predictable and can be accounted for in profit and loss statements, no longer affected by the price fluctuations of native tokens.

• Sub-second finality.

The consensus engine of Arc is called Malachite, derived from the Byzantine fault tolerance technology brought by the Informal Systems team after joining Circle, evolved from Tendermint. The key term is finality: once a transaction is confirmed, it cannot be rolled back. There is no such thing as "waiting for 6 confirmations to be safer." This is a hard requirement for scenarios like POS payments, instant forex settlements, and broker settlements.

• EVM compatibility + compliant privacy.

The execution layer is built on Reth, fully compatible with the Solidity toolchain and contract library of the Ethereum ecosystem. It also provides an optional privacy layer, exposing interfaces through EVM precompiles, supporting pluggable cryptographic backends, while retaining audit disclosure channels. In other words, Arc's privacy is designed for compliance, standing on the same side as compliance.

Day-1 Ecosystem: DeFi Blue Chips + Payment Giants + Mainstream Wallets

The Arc mainnet will not be an empty chain on its first day. Circle has already disclosed the ecosystem lineup for the first day:

• DeFi protocols and capital allocators: Aave, Aerodrome, Morpho, Uniswap, Curve, Euler Finance, Fluid, along with market makers FalconX, Galaxy, GSR, Keyrock, Nonco, and XFX. The core protocols for lending, trading, and on-chain capital deployment are basically in place.

• Stablecoin payment service providers: Rain, Thunes, Wirex, covering card settlements, compliant consumer platforms, and global cross-border payment networks.

• Wallets and exchanges: Binance Wallet, Chainlink, Fireblocks, Kraken, Ledger, MetaMask, Uniswap Labs, Upbit. All mainstream entry points are covered.

It is worth emphasizing that Arc also has a built-in on-chain forex engine called StableFX, supporting real-time exchanges between different currency stablecoins. Coupled with Circle's own CCTP (Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol) and Paymaster (gas payment service) deep integration, Arc provides developers with a "plug-and-play" stablecoin financial tool stack.

ARC Token: 10 Billion Tokens with 60% Ecosystem Allocation

Circle disclosed the framework design of the ARC token in its white paper released in May 2026:

• Initial total supply of 10 billion tokens. The annual issuance rate is expected to be 2% to 3%, with a long-term goal of achieving "inflation neutrality." The token is positioned as the "coordination mechanism" of the Arc network, and as the network transitions to a proof-of-stake consensus model, ARC will be used for staking, governance, and network incentives.

• 60% allocated to the ecosystem. This portion covers token sales, developer grants, network growth programs, and other participation mechanisms.

According to Cryptonomist, the ARC token presale has raised $222 million, with a valuation of $3 billion, led by a16z crypto, with participation from BlackRock and Apollo.

Currently, there is no officially confirmed airdrop plan. However, Circle CEO Allaire has publicly stated that the company is "actively exploring" native tokens, and the tokenomics design in the white paper (especially the 60% ecosystem allocation) has generated strong expectations within the community. The interaction data from the testnet phase (over 500 million transactions, nearly 3 million wallet addresses) is also viewed by many opportunists as potential qualification credentials.

Arc Ecosystem Gold Mining Guide: A Comprehensive Scan of Projects Before Mainnet Launch

According to records from the third-party project directory ArcLens, over 308 projects have claimed to be building on Arc. The following categorizes the most noteworthy projects to help readers quickly identify opportunities after the mainnet launch.

First Tier: Confirmed DeFi Blue Chips Launching on Day One

These projects have received backing from Circle's official announcements, confirming they will deploy on the Arc mainnet on the first day or in the early stages:

• Uniswap (v4): Announced on August 17 that it will deploy v4 AMM infrastructure on the Arc mainnet, providing liquidity pools and programmable hooks for Arc. As the largest DEX globally, Uniswap's entry will directly determine the trading depth at the early stages of Arc's launch. Retail opportunity: Pay attention to early liquidity pools on Arc; the combination of a new chain and new pools typically means LP fee yields are much higher in the early stages than on mature chains.

• Aave: The leading lending protocol has confirmed deployment on Arc. Users can borrow and lend USDC and other supported assets on Arc. Retail opportunity: Aave typically offers higher deposit rates in the early stages of deployment on a new chain (as lending demand and supply have not yet balanced), while also keeping an eye on whether Aave will launch exclusive incentive programs for Arc.

• Morpho: A modular lending protocol focused on optimizing lending rates, complementary to Aave.

• Aerodrome / Velodrome (Dromos Labs): The leading DEX on the Base chain, Aerodrome, and Velodrome on Optimism are backed by the same team, Dromos Labs, and have confirmed entry into the Arc ecosystem. Aerodrome's successful path on Base (early LP incentives + veToken economic model) may be replicated on Arc. Retail opportunity: If Aerodrome issues incentive tokens on Arc or migrates its ve model, early LP participants may receive excess rewards.

• Curve: A veteran in stablecoin exchanges, Curve has a natural advantage on Arc, a chain where stablecoins are the native gas. The built-in StableFX forex engine on Arc may complement or compete with Curve, which is worth tracking.

• Euler Finance and Fluid: Two DeFi lending/trading protocols that have deployed test versions on the Arc testnet and confirmed they will launch with the mainnet.

• edgeX (EDGE): A perpetual contract DEX backed by Circle Ventures, has secured exclusive launch partner status for Arc's forex perpetual contracts. It will launch 24/7 USD/JPY perpetual contracts on September 16, with plans to add over 150 markets (US stocks, commodities, crypto).

Second Tier: Market Makers and Liquidity Providers

FalconX, Galaxy, GSR, Keyrock, Wintermute, IMC, Auros, B2C2, Cumberland, Zodia Markets: Nearly all top global crypto market makers are present. The direct implication for retail: The trading slippage and liquidity depth at the early stages of Arc's launch are guaranteed, avoiding the typical dilemma of "new chain launch, no market making, and severe price volatility."

Third Tier: Arc Native Projects (High Risk/High Potential)

The following projects are specifically built for Arc, have not yet received official backing from Circle, carry higher risks, but if the Arc ecosystem explodes, they will be the most direct beneficiaries:

• ViFi Labs: A decentralized forex protocol focused on emerging market currencies like the Nigerian Naira, Brazilian Real, and Colombian Peso. It uses an AMM architecture designed for correlated assets, providing near-zero slippage exchanges. It has deployed on the Arc testnet, with Arc as its primary liquidity and forex execution center. Reason to watch: The built-in StableFX forex engine on Arc + native support for USDC/EURC aligns ViFi's emerging market forex positioning with Arc's global payment vision. If Arc's cross-border payment narrative holds, ViFi could be the most direct beneficiary at the application layer.

• ARCLaunch: An Arc version of Pump.fun, positioned as a meme token platform for one-click token issuance and trading. It plans to integrate built-in cross-chain bridges, unified balances, Uniswap integration, creator fees, and referral systems. Reason to watch: Meme seasons on new chains are almost guaranteed events. What ARCLaunch aims to do is become the first meme token launch platform on Arc. High volatility, high risk, but also the track most likely to generate hundredfold narratives in the early stages of a new chain.

• AstraPump: Another launchpad and DEX, focusing on one-click token issuance and trading, ranked high on ArcLens's Trending list. It directly competes with ARCLaunch. Watch who goes live first and who generates trading volume first.

• Lunex: A Curve-style StableSwap AMM focused on low-slippage exchanges of stablecoins. On Arc, a purely native DEX for stablecoin exchanges has narrative advantages.

• Orixa (ORIXIANS): An Arc native NFT trading market, planning to release the ORIXIANS series NFTs after the mainnet launch. It is not yet clear whether it will issue tokens. Reason to watch: NFT projects on new chains often carry community identity and early participant identification functions, similar to the early stages of Friend.tech on Base.

Fourth Tier: Payment Infrastructure (Institutional Focus, Lower Retail Attention)

• Blockradar: A payment infrastructure team introduced by Circle's official blog on July 13, providing services to enterprises.

• Rain, Thunes, Wirex: Covering card settlements and cross-border payments. These projects mainly target B2B, with limited participation space for retail, but their activity levels are leading indicators of whether Arc's "payment chain" narrative holds.

Practical Checklist: What to Do in the 24 Hours Before Mainnet Launch

1. Prepare USDC. All operations on Arc require USDC as gas. Ensure you hold enough USDC on Ethereum or other chains that support CCTP.
2. Set up your wallet. MetaMask has confirmed support for the Arc network. After the mainnet launch, add Arc's Chain ID and RPC endpoint; Ledger hardware wallets have also confirmed support.
3. Monitor cross-chain bridges. Circle's CCTP is the official cross-chain channel for transferring USDC from other chains to Arc. On the day of the mainnet launch, this will be the primary entry point for funds into Arc. Note: There have been phishing websites impersonating "ARC Bridge"; be sure to only use Circle's official channels.
4. Track ArcLens and the official ecosystem page. ArcLens (a third-party project directory) is currently the most comprehensive tool for tracking Arc ecosystem projects, allowing you to view token prices, market capitalizations, trading volumes, and liquidity data.
5. Testnet interaction. If you haven't interacted on the Arc testnet yet, there's still time. Although the ARC token airdrop has not been confirmed, the 60% ecosystem allocation ratio in Circle's white paper, along with the existing Community Program (badge and points system), makes testnet activity a potential qualification basis for airdrops.

Everything is ready, waiting for the doors to open!

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