Circle's Arc Blockchain Launches With $649M USDC and Institutional Backing
USDC (USDC)
Editor:
Eugene Serbin
newsbitcoin.cash reports that Circle has launched its purpose-built blockchain, Arc, with an immediate deployment of $649 million in USDC. The network is designed for high-volume payment flows, offering sub-second transaction finality and a target fee floor of $0.01 per transaction. Arc distinguishes itself through vertical integration, giving Circle direct control over the settlement layer for its stablecoin.
The launch features explicit backing from BlackRock and Visa, signaling strong institutional credibility for the infrastructure. BlackRock’s involvement supports the movement of tokenized real-world assets, while Visa’s participation validates the architecture for global payment processing. This debut positions Arc as a direct competitor to established chains by combining low fees with rapid finality.
The rapid accumulation of capital suggests coordinated onboarding by institutional actors prior to the public launch. USDC’s status as a preferred stablecoin for regulated use cases is extended into this new settlement layer. Competing networks now face pressure to match Arc’s performance metrics and institutional partnerships. Circle’s strategy converts years of regulatory groundwork into tangible infrastructure leverage.
How the market reacted
Whalio's own Binance spot order flow for USDC, measured when this story was written up on 18 September 2026. Not the outlet's figures.
USDC is trading at $1.00 with a 1-hour buy ratio of 34.4% and a 4-hour buy ratio of 50.2%. The 24-hour buy ratio stands at 47.7%, indicating that buying pressure has weakened significantly over the longer timeframe compared to the immediate 4-hour window. The 1-hour volume delta is negative at -$21,485,956, while the 4-hour delta is positive at +$2,631,876. This suggests that recent selling pressure has accelerated in the last hour, reversing the modest buying trend seen over the previous four hours. The 24-hour volume delta is -$127,581,367, showing that sellers have dominated the day’s flow. CVD closed at -$85,668,064, confirming that net selling has outweighed buying over the full day.
The latest daily buy ratio of 50.2% sits at the 73rd percentile of the last 322 days, against a median of 48.4% - stronger buying than most days.
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 average buy ratio was 49.4%, making today’s 24-hour ratio of 47.7% slightly below the weekly norm by 1.7 percentage points. Trading volume was 1.07 times the average, indicating slightly higher activity than usual. The 8-day volume delta total was -$427,826,943, showing a consistent pattern of net selling over the past week. Today’s activity reflects a continuation of this weekly trend rather than a sudden shift. The coin experienced net buying on only 3 of the past 7 days, suggesting a generally bearish flow structure.