Circle (CRCL -2.15%), the fintech company that mints the USD Coin (USDC -0.01%) stablecoin, recently unveiled Arc, a new blockchain for stablecoin-based transactions, cross-border settlements, and tokenized real-world assets. Instead of adapting general-purpose blockchains for those transfers, Circle built Arc from the ground up to handle those tasks.
Arc won't launch until September, but it's already attracted major backers such as BlackRock, Visa, Mastercard, Standard Chartered, MoneyGram, and Interncontinental Exchange, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange. Let's see why those financial giants are lining up to use this new blockchain -- and why that support makes Circle's stock a more attractive investment.
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Why could Arc be a game changer?
Most blockchain networks, like Ethereum (ETH +1.61%) and Solana (SOL +0.99%), require users to hold their volatile native tokens to execute transfers. That's risky, since Ether and Solana have both declined about 60% over the past 12 months as the crypto market cooled.
On the Arc blockchain, all those transfers are funded by Circle's USD Coin, which is pegged to the U.S. dollar and backed by the company's cash and U.S. Treasuries. That stability makes it much more appealing to large financial institutions, which don't want to pay fluctuating tolls.
NYSE: CRCL
Key Data Points
The Arc blockchain moves money in less than half a second, faster than tapping a credit card at a store, for a fraction of a cent. It also runs 24/7 and instantly crosses borders. Those advantages all make it a faster, cheaper, and more flexible alternative to SWIFT transfers.
Arc is built on the same technological foundations as Ethereum, so it's compatible with Ethereum's decentralized finance (DeFi) apps and other tokenized assets. That support makes it easy for developers to connect their applications to Arc's blockchain.
Why does Arc make Circle a more compelling investment?
Back in June, a coalition of more than 140 companies -- including BlackRock, Visa, and Mastercard -- backed the development of a new stablecoin called Open USD (OUSD). OUSD seemed like a major threat to Circle's USDC, the most widely used stablecoin in the U.S., because its control was decentralized and democratized among its ecosystem partners.
With Arc, Circle pulls many of those companies back into its ecosystem. Arc also settles transactions faster than OUSD, which relies on third-party blockchains, and it's built to run its own DeFi applications. That stability also makes Arc a solid platform for launching AI agents, and will drive Circle's evolution from a stablecoin minter into an infrastructure provider.
Circle will still generate most of its revenue from the interest it collects on its own cash and Treasury holdings. Still, Arc's upcoming launch could finally silence the bears and draw more investors back to its stock, which has declined nearly 60% over the past 12 months.
