Stablecoins have grown into the most used asset class in crypto — powering payments, trading, DeFi, and remittances. But the infrastructure they rely on today was never purpose-built for them. Ethereum, Solana, Tron, and Stellar all host stablecoins, but they treat them as applications running on top of a general-purpose chain.
Arc changes that equation.
Arc is being built from the ground up as a Layer-1 blockchain where stablecoins are not guests, but the native citizens. Backed by Circle and Coinbase — the institutions behind USDC and some of the deepest crypto liquidity — Arc is designed as the settlement layer for digital dollars, euros, and future fiat-pegged assets.
Why Stablecoins Deserve Their Own Native Chain ⚡
Stablecoins have different requirements than NFTs, meme tokens, or smart contracts. They need:
Predictable costs for treasury and payment operations.
Deterministic finality for settlement, not probabilistic “wait a few blocks.”
Native FX and liquidity between stablecoins (USD ↔ EUR, etc.).
Privacy controls that balance enterprise confidentiality with regulatory transparency.
Direct banking and compliance integration to bridge fiat and crypto rails.
Arc is engineered specifically to meet these needs at the protocol level.
Arc’s Stablecoin-First Architecture 🧩
🔹 Gas in Dollars (USDC-Native Fees)
On Arc, transactions are paid in USDC. That means businesses don’t need to hold ETH, SOL, or TRX just to send a dollar-denominated asset. Costs are stable, predictable, and easy to manage for enterprise finance teams.
🔹 Deterministic Finality Under a Second
Arc’s Malachite consensus engine delivers true deterministic finality in sub-seconds. This is not “probably final after 20 blocks” like Ethereum; it’s immediate and absolute — the standard financial institutions expect for clearing and settlement.
🔹 Built-in FX + Atomic PvP Settlement
Arc integrates a request-for-quote engine and atomic payment-vs-payment settlement at the base layer. Stablecoins can be exchanged natively (USD ↔ EUR and more) without routing through fragmented DEXs or bridges. This enables clean, automated, and compliant FX rails for 24/7 global commerce.
🔹 Selective Privacy for Enterprises
Arc offers opt-in privacy so institutions can shield sensitive flows (vendor settlements, corporate payments) while keeping regulatory reporting intact. This strikes the balance between enterprise confidentiality and public auditability.
🔹 Native Integration with Circle’s Financial Stack
Arc doesn’t exist in isolation — it’s directly integrated into Circle’s ecosystem:
USDC / EURC issuance and redemption.
Circle Payments Network (CPN) for fiat on/off-ramps.
Wallets, Contracts, Paymaster for developers.
USYC (tokenized cash equivalents) as on-chain collateral for DvP settlement.
CCTP for bridging USDC across chains.
This makes Arc the only chain where the infrastructure, stablecoin, and banking rails are all controlled by the same trusted providers.
Why Arc Outperforms Existing Chains 🥊
Ethereum / L2s: Rich liquidity and dev tooling, but volatile gas (ETH), probabilistic finality, and no native FX. Stablecoins are “just another ERC-20.”
Solana / Tron: Fast and cheap, but still gas in volatile tokens, and FX/compliance rails are bolted on later.
Stellar / Algorand: Built with payments in mind, but lack the liquidity, ecosystem depth, and Circle/Coinbase alignment.
Arc is different: it’s a stablecoin-native chain with institutional liquidity guaranteed by Circle and Coinbase, and compliance baked in from day one.
Key Use Cases Enabled by Arc 🚀
Cross-border payments: 24/7, predictable fees, sub-second settlement.
On-chain FX markets: USD ↔ EUR ↔ other stablecoins with PvP safety.
Tokenized collateral & DvP: Settlement of securities, RWAs, or tokenized credit with USDC/USYC.
AI-driven payments: Autonomous agents making dollar-denominated transactions that require deterministic finality.
Enterprise settlements: Confidential, compliant, and programmable business payments.
Conclusion: The Stablecoin Native Layer 🌍
Arc is not just another blockchain competing for DeFi or NFTs. It is the first Layer-1 purpose-built for stablecoins, backed by the issuers and custodians who already run the world’s most trusted stablecoins.
With USDC as gas, deterministic finality, native FX, enterprise privacy, and seamless Circle integration, Arc is positioned to become the global settlement network for digital fiat.
For any team building in stablecoin payments, FX, or institutional finance — Arc is the chain designed for your use case.