Circle Unveils Arc Blockchain as Institutional Stablecoin Trading Infrastructure

Circle has unveiled its self-developed blockchain, Arc, as an infrastructure for institutional stablecoin trading. The platform will utilize USDC as a fee payment method and offer optional private transaction capabilities aimed at enterprise and institutional payment and contract applications.

In a September 16 interview with CoinDesk, Circle's Chief Technology Product Officer Nikhil Chandhok stated that the passage of the Genius Act would serve as a catalyst for treating stablecoins like regulated capital, positioning Arc as an institutional blockchain ready to capitalize on this trend. Chandhok explained that the Genius Act was passed in July and will be implemented with regulations effective from January next year.

"Stablecoins will come under federal regulation and be treated like actual money within the system," Chandhok said, adding that institutions and enterprises hesitant to hold stablecoins would now be able to use them for everyday transactions. Circle has stated it is preparing to become the largest circulating stablecoin compliant with the Genius Act from the first day of its implementation.

Chandhok emphasized that "the time is not far off" and that "we will be ready." Key features of Arc include USDC-based fee payments, optional private transactions, and rapid finality. Chandhok noted that using volatile tokens for fees could burden enterprise accounting and institutional trading, stressing the need for simplicity: "For enterprise or institutional use cases, fee payment should be as simple as paying with USDC."

Private transaction functionality operates on a default public transaction structure, allowing users to toggle it on as needed. Chandhok highlighted that existing private transactions often relied on mixers, causing issues, whereas Arc provides dedicated private transaction channels and query keys so only the involved parties can view transaction details.

"Institutions won't have to worry about balances or transaction methods being exposed when trading privately with other institutions, users, or smart contracts," Chandhok said. "This is a significant milestone for us." Arc also boasts sub-second finality and payment finality, which Chandhok explained are essential for building trust in ecosystems processing millions or billions of transactions.

AI agent applications were also highlighted as a key use case. Chandhok stated that AI agents could receive USDC to pay for activities like research report generation or reasoning tasks, with Circle building agent-specific toolkits on Arc. However, he refrained from predicting whether AI agents would dominate blockchain activity, stating "we'll have to see," while noting such applications are likely to increase. He also suggested that early use cases might involve agents purchasing goods on behalf of users, evolving toward more complex economic contracts in the future.