Circle opens Arc mainnet as it seeks an edge for USDC utility

Circle has scheduled the public launch of Arc for Sept. 16, giving USDC a network where the same dollar balance can fund both payments and transaction fees. That could remove a common obstacle to using stablecoins, giving Circle a possible way to attract additional USDC demand as it competes with Tether.The public-mainnet rollout follows a private network that Circle said had more than 100 ecosystem and institutional builders in August.Arc's public testnet opened on Oct. 28, 2025. Today's scheduled milestone is the move to a public production network, where its design can face a broader commercial test.One balance for payments and feesArc is a layer-1 blockchain, meaning it operates its own network. Its documentation describes an Ethereum-compatible environment built around stablecoin transactions, with USDC as the asset used to pay network fees and transactions designed to become final in less than a second.On many Ethereum-compatible chains, someone can have enough USDC to make a payment yet lack the separate token needed to pay the network fee. Acquiring that second asset adds another step before the payment can move.Arc's USDC model combines those functions. A user holds USDC, ...