Circle names BlackRock, Visa, Mastercard as Arc blockchain validators for September 16 launch

Aug 5, 2026

Circle will launch its Arc blockchain on September 16 with backing from financial giants BlackRock, Visa, and Mastercard as founding validators. The move, signaling strong institutional adoption, comes as Circle reports $701M in Q2 revenue and a 19% rise in USDC circulation to $73.3B. BlackRock plans to deploy its BUIDL tokenized fund on the new network, which aims to support tokenized real-world assets.

Arc blockchain launch

▪Circle will launch the public mainnet of its Arc blockchain on September 16, 2026
▪The Arc blockchain is designed to support privacy, programmable finance, and tokenized real-world assets
▪Gas fees on the Arc network will be paid using Circle's USDC stablecoin
▪Arc's testnet has processed more than half a billion transactions across nearly 3 million wallets

Validator cohort composition

▪BlackRock plans to deploy its tokenized money market fund, BUIDL, on the Arc network
▪DTCC plans to enable tokenization of assets it custodies on Arc, starting in the second half of 2027
▪The validator cohort includes BlackRock, Visa, Mastercard, DTCC, ICE, Standard Chartered, and MoneyGram
▪Eleven institutions will serve as founding validators for the Arc network alongside Circle

Circle Q2 financial results

▪Circle reported $701 million in total revenue and reserve income for Q2 2026, a 7% year-over-year increase
▪The company posted a net income of $48 million in Q2 2026, compared to a $482 million loss in Q2 2025
▪Adjusted EBITDA for Q2 2026 rose 8% year-over-year to $143 million

USDC market performance

▪USDC's on-chain transaction volume surged 151% to $14.8 trillion during Q2 2026
▪The circulation of Circle's USDC stablecoin reached $73.3 billion at the end of Q2 2026, up 19% from the previous year

Federal bank charter approval

▪Circle recently received final approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish Circle National Trust
▪The federal charter makes Circle one of the first stablecoin issuers to hold a federal bank charter under federal oversight

Circle Payments Network growth

▪As of Q2 2026, 175 financial institutions were enrolled in the Circle Payments Network
▪The Circle Payments Network (CPN) reached $14.7 billion in annualized transaction volume, up 76% quarter-over-quarter