Circle launches Arc mainnet with BlackRock and Visa as validators
USDC (USDC)
Editor:
Eugene Serbin
bitcoinethereumnews.com reports that Circle launched the Arc mainnet on September 16, positioning it as a blockchain infrastructure for Wall Street. The launch coincides with the U.S. Senate cloture vote on the CLARITY Act, aiming to capitalize on codified stablecoin rules. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire described Arc as "the birth of a new operating system layer for economic activity in the world" during the Q2 2026 earnings call.
The network features eleven founding validators, including BlackRock, DTCC, and Visa, which are now running nodes on the chain. Arc uses USDC as its native gas token, allowing Circle to capture value from transaction fees rather than just reserve income. The consensus layer utilizes Malachite for deterministic finality under 500 milliseconds, while the execution layer remains EVM-compatible via Reth.
Circle holds 25% of the ARC token at genesis, which accrues value through validator rewards and burns. The DTCC plans to tokenize DTC-custodied assets on Arc starting in the second half of 2027. BlackRock will deploy its BUIDL fund on Arc, enabling single-environment subscription and redemption.
Circle reported $701 million in revenue last quarter, with $21.5 trillion in onchain transaction volume. A $222 million presale for the ARC token occurred in May at a $3 billion fully diluted valuation.
How the market reacted
Whalio's own Binance spot order flow for USDC, measured when this story was written up on 4 September 2026. Not the outlet's figures.
USDC is trading at $0.9999 with a 1-hour buy ratio of 54.6% and a 4-hour buy ratio of 56.0%, compared to a 24-hour buy ratio of 50.5%. The 1-hour volume delta is positive at $14,046,984, while the 4-hour volume delta stands at $78,925,529. This indicates that buying pressure is currently building in the short term, as the 1-hour and 4-hour buy ratios exceed the 24-hour average. The volume delta measures the net difference between buy and sell volume, showing that more capital is flowing into bids than asks over these periods. Over the last 24 hours, the cumulative volume delta reached $128,322,170, with spot volume totaling $3,495,289,742 across 719,738 trades. Net buying occurred in 13 out of the last 24 hours, suggesting sustained but intermittent demand.
The latest daily buy ratio of 49.8% sits at the 69th percentile of the last 281 days, against a median of 47.8% - ordinary for this coin.
Was that an ordinary day?
The same Binance spot measurements for USDC, averaged over the days leading up to the story.
Over the preceding week, the 7-day average buy ratio was 48.6%, making the current 24-hour ratio of 50.5% slightly elevated by 1.9 points. The 24-hour spot volume of $3,495,289,742 represents 1.39 times the weekly average volume, indicating a notably active trading day. However, the 8-day volume delta total was -$393,136,835, and there were zero days of net buying in the past week. This suggests that while today shows increased activity and short-term buying interest, the broader weekly trend has been characterized by net selling pressure. The current day is unusual for its volume intensity relative to the average, despite the lack of sustained net buying over the longer period.