Arc and HyperEVM lead stablecoin market cap growth by $1.2B in a single week

Two relatively new blockchain platforms just vacuumed up more than $1.2 billion in stablecoin market cap in seven days. Circle’s Arc, a Layer-1 chain built specifically for stablecoin-native finance, contributed roughly $621.5 million of that total. HyperEVM, the EVM-compatible layer within Hyperliquid, added another $598.8 million. Together, they dominated stablecoin growth for the week ending September 22, 2026, according to Token Terminal data. To put that in perspective, Avalanche, one of the more established Layer-1 chains, managed $128.6 million in stablecoin market cap growth over the same period. That’s roughly one-fifth of what either Arc or HyperEVM pulled in individually. Arc’s launch came loaded Circle didn’t exactly tiptoe onto the scene. When Arc’s mainnet went live on September 16, the chain launched with close to $649 million in USDC already deployed. Over 100 ecosystem and institutional partners signed on before launch, including BlackRock, Visa, and Mastercard. Arc’s stablecoin market cap settled at roughly $628 million shortly after launch. The chain has already integrated with DeFi lending protocols Aave and Morpho, giving it immediate utility beyond simple tran...