Circle, the company behind the USDC stablecoin, revealed plans to launch a Circle native token for Arc blockchain. Arc is its new enterprise-focused Layer 1 testnet. The announcement was made Wednesday alongside its strong Q3 2025 financial results, according to a company statement.
The Arc testnet launched in October with prominent participation, including giants like Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, and Visa. While Circle initially considered using USDC for gas fees, the company is now pursuing a native token. The goal is to foster network participation, align stakeholder interests, and support Arc’s growth, with a long-term goal of decentralized governance.
How does the Arc blockchain impact the future of institutional finance?
This move underscores the growing institutional involvement in the crypto space. It also marks a trend toward “appchains,” or application-specific blockchain networks. These networks, like Arc, aim to overcome the speed, scalability, and high fee issues of general-purpose networks by handling dedicated traffic.
However, the “appchain” model is debated. Critics like Andre Cronje, co-founder of Sonic Labs, argue that these networks fragment liquidity and are prone to centralization, increasing hacking risks. Conversely, Marc Boiron, CEO of Polygon Labs, contends that robust interoperability between networks will solve these fragmentation issues.
Circle’s strong Q3 performance, with $740 million in revenue and $214 million in net income, provides a firm foundation for this expansion. Despite rising costs, EBITDA grew 78% year-over-year. The future launch of the Circle native token for Arc blockchain will be a crucial step in the network’s evolution toward a decentralized model.
