Stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL) named 11 founding validators for its Arc blockchain on Wednesday, enlisting BlackRock, Visa, Mastercard, and other major financial institutions to secure the network as it reported second-quarter results.
The cohort includes BlackRock, The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, Galaxy, Global Payments, ICE, Mastercard, MoneyGram, SBI Group, Standard Chartered, Sumitomo Corporation, and Visa, alongside Circle itself, the company said.
Arc is a Layer 1 network that uses USDC as its native gas token, with sub-second finality and opt-in privacy. The blockchain is also EVM-compatible, meaning Arc runs the same code standard as Ethereum, letting developers deploy existing smart contracts and tooling with little to no modification.
Circle first unveiled the Arc network in August 2025 and launched its public testnet in October. It drew participation from multiple Wall Street heavy hitters, including BlackRock and Visa, alongside technology companies such as Anthropic.
The company raised $222 million in an ARC token presale at a $3 billion fully diluted valuation in May, reportedly led by a16z crypto.
