Circle launched the Arc mainnet, a Layer 1 blockchain focused on payments, on Wednesday, with over 100 institutions and ecosystem partners participating on the first day. Founding validators include BlackRock, DTCC, Visa, Mastercard, and Standard Chartered Bank. USDC, with a circulating supply of approximately $74 billion, serves as the native gas token for the chain. Arc is EVM-compatible, supports sub-second settlement finality, and has completed the genesis minting of 10 billion ARC tokens.