Circle has officially launched the public testnet for Arc, an open Layer-1 blockchain network built to support developers and companies, driving more economic activity onchain.
This is a major milestone for Circle and it’s already attracting participation from over 100 companies across the financial and technology sectors.
Arc is now available for developers and enterprises to deploy, test and build on what Circle describes as the new Economic Operating System (“OS”) for the internet.
CEO Jeremy Allaire said that the testnet is “seeing remarkable early momentum”, as leading companies, protocols, and projects begin to build and test.
He highlighted that these participants collectively serve billions of users and handle trillions in assets worldwide, underscoring Arc’s goal to connect local markets to the global economy. He described Arc as enterprise-grade infrastructure designed to enable a more open, inclusive, and efficient financial system built natively on the internet.
Arc is a big step toward building a more open and programmable financial infrastructure for the global economy. It is designed to make onchain transactions faster, smarter, and easier to use, with predictable dollar-based fees, sub-second transaction finality and opt-in configurable privacy.
With its integration to Circle’s full-stack platform, Arc enables a wide range of use cases across lending, capital markets, foreign exchange and global payments.
Leading capital markets firms engaging with Arc include Apollo, BNY, Intercontinental Exchange, and State Street.
Other participating banks, asset managers, and insurers include Absa, Clearbank, BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Deutsche Bank, Standard Chartered, Invesco, SBI Holdings and others.
Circle notes that payments are emerging as one of Arc’s most powerful use cases, making it easy for people and businesses to move money instantly and without friction. The same infrastructure also supports AI-driven systems that can autonomously send and settle value in real time.
The technology and payments firms engaging with Arc, include AWS, Mastercard, Visa, Cloudflare, Brex, Nuvei, among others. Stablecoin issuers from various regions are also active on the testnet.
Arc is also partnering with leading developers and infrastructure providers including MetaMask, Ledger, Fireblocks, Alchemy and Chainlink.
Anthropic is enhancing the developer experience on Arc with Claude code-powered builder tools. Crosschain partners include Across, Wormhole and Stargate while Elliptic, Quicknode, and TRM will ensure that Arc stays fast, secure, and reliable.
Arc is bringing together leading players from across the digital asset ecosystem, from decentralized and centralized exchanges to market makers, lenders, and custodians. DEXs like Uniswap and Curve provide onchain liquidity, while Coinbase, Kraken, and Robinhood expand global access.
Major market makers like Galaxy Digital, Wintermute, and GSR enhance liquidity, and lending platforms such as Aave and Maple support credit and capital efficiency. Custodians like BitGo and Zodia Custody help keep assets secure.
Circle notes that the testnet launch marks the beginning of a network designed to evolve into a distributed, community-driven system.
Over time, it plans to expand validator participation, introduce transparent governance models, and involve the community in its evolution.
CoinPedia has been delivering accurate and timely cryptocurrency and blockchain updates since 2017. All content is created by our expert panel of analysts and journalists, following strict Editorial Guidelines based on E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness). Every article is fact-checked against reputable sources to ensure accuracy, transparency, and reliability. Our review policy guarantees unbiased evaluations when recommending exchanges, platforms, or tools. We strive to provide timely updates about everything crypto & blockchain, right from startups to industry majors.
All opinions and insights shared represent the author's own views on current market conditions. Please do your own research before making investment decisions. Neither the writer nor the publication assumes responsibility for your financial choices.
Sponsored content and affiliate links may appear on our site. Advertisements are marked clearly, and our editorial content remains entirely independent from our ad partners.
Bitcoin may look calm after weeks of choppy trading, but a much bigger story is…
The U.S. economy stands at a critical juncture as investors await the Federal Reserve’s December…
XRP got a big boost after Bitwise Asset Management added it to its Bitwise 10…
Brevis, a ZK verifiable computing platform, has teamed up with multi-chain DEX Aster to tackle…
BestChange is a global crypto exchanger aggregator, giving users access to a broad world of…
Solana price is showing early signs of stabilization after weeks of persistent downside pressure, as…
