Circle launches Arc mainnet with BlackRock and Visa among validators, mints 10 billion ARC tokens

Circle confirmed it completed the genesis mint of 10 billion ARC tokens this week, although a public launch of the token remains undecided.

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Circle launches Arc mainnet with BlackRock and Visa among validators, mints 10 billion ARC tokens

What happened

Circle confirmed it completed the genesis mint of 10 billion ARC tokens this week, although a public launch of the token remains undecided.

Reported details

• The Layer 1 charges gas in USDC and runs proof-of-authority across a permissioned set of 11 institutions plus Circle. More than 100 applications are live at launch, with Aave, Morpho and Uniswap anchoring DeFi. Circle minted 10 billion ARC tokens this week without committing to a public launch.

What the sources establish

The identified reports describe the same recent event. This brief preserves the source links and verification time so readers can inspect the original reporting.

Why it matters for RWA markets

The material question is how the event affects institutional participation, tokenization infrastructure, issuer economics, market access, or regulatory positioning. The report does not turn that relevance into an endorsement.

Evidence boundary

Terms, figures, counterparties, and consequences not stated in the linked reports are not inferred. Material updates require a dated revision and an additional source check.

What to watch next

• Official company statements, filings, and transaction documents.
• Details on custody, settlement, eligibility, and tokenization scope.
• Regulatory disclosures or corrections to the reported figures.

Sources and editorial check time

• The Block RSS: https://www.theblock.co/news/ecosystems/2026-09-16-circle-launches-arc-mainnet-with-blackrock-and-visa-among-validators-mints-10-billion-arc-tokens-415250

• The Defiant Live: https://thedefiant.io/converge/blockchains/circle-launches-arc-mainnet-with-blackrock-dtcc-and-visa-producing-blocks

• Editorial source check time: 2026-09-16T14:51:35.011Z

This information is educational and is not financial or legal advice.

Sources

• https://www.theblock.co/news/ecosystems/2026-09-16-circle-launches-arc-mainnet-with-blackrock-and-visa-among-validators-mints-10-billion-arc-tokens-415250
• https://thedefiant.io/converge/blockchains/circle-launches-arc-mainnet-with-blackrock-dtcc-and-visa-producing-blocks