Circle Launches Arc Mainnet With USDC Gas Fees

Key Takeaways

• Circle announced Arc’s public mainnet launch on September 16, with transaction fees paid in USDC.
• The ARC token remains unlaunched; network-wide privacy features are still in development.

Details

Circle opened Arc’s public mainnet on September 16, 2026, according to its launch announcement. The Layer 1 network is designed for payments and financial applications and is operated by a permissioned set of validators.

The launch separates access to the blockchain from the rollout of its proposed network token. Circle said on September 16 that it had completed a genesis mint of 10 billion ARC tokens, but has made no commitment to a public token launch. It is exploring a move from proof of authority to proof of stake in 2027.

Arc’s token information page describes staking and governance as proposed features; neither is active at launch. Opt-in privacy across the network also remains under development, according to Circle’s announcement.

Market Analysis

For payment applications, USDC supplies the asset needed to cover network costs. The fee design still responds to activity: Arc’s technical documentation describes a moving average of block utilization that smooths adjustments to the base fee. This gives developers two separate considerations—funding fees in USDC and estimating how much each transaction will cost as demand changes. The documentation’s numerical fee parameters are labelled as testnet settings, so they are not a mainnet price quote.

Note: This article is for news reporting purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.