Circle introduces Arc, an L1 purpose-built for stablecoin finance

USDC-as-gas on an EVM L1 is issuer infrastructure, not an x402 competitor.

On 12 August 2025 Circle introduced Arc, an open Layer-1 designed for stablecoin-native applications, EVM-compatible, with USDC as native gas. The post scheduled private then public testnet and a later mainnet beta. Arc is settlement/infrastructure, not a 402 payload spec.

Why it matters

If agents settle in USDC, issuer-operated chains are part of the routing and concentration story.

Source: Circle

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