One of the leading stablecoin issuers, Circle, has launched a public testnet for its new open-layer blockchain network, Arc. The firm confirmed the development on Tuesday through an official blog post, describing the platform as an “Economic Operating System for the Internet.”
The statement indicated how the new network is designed to attract more firms from the traditional finance sector to the blockchain space. More so, the initiative underlines how Circle is on track to become a global leader in the new order of digital finance.
Meanwhile, the launch of the public testnet attracted the participation of more than 100 renowned companies from key sectors like banking, fintechs, and the capital market. As revealed some of them include Apollo, BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, Mastercard, Visa, Standard Chartered, Absa, Commerzbank, Amazon Web Service and many others.
Additionally, the founder and CEO of Circle, Jeremy Allaire confirmed the launching in a post on X. In the post, the founder mentioned how Arc, despite launching its testnet today, is gaining massive market acceptance.
He mentioned how the blockchain promises stable and cheap network fees calculated in the US dollar, private transactions, and sub-second finality.
Insight to some of Arc’s capabilities
Likewise, the firm, through the post, stated that the network is equipped with infrastructure that supports seamless development of financial solutions including lending markets, capital markets, global payment, and foreign exchange. Further, the stablecoin issuer said the network’s architecture helps connect local markets across numerous continents.
Arc offers institution-grade infrastructure for traditional financial institutions and decentralized solutions, according to Circle. Similarly, the firm went on to empathize on the stablecoin infrastructure of the new network.
Circle said the new blockchain supports fiat-pegged digital assets, tokenized assets and funds, alongside FX liquidity. Underlining its acceptance, USDC’s issuer explained how issuers from seven different countries have joined the testnet so far.
Also, Circle provided insights into the long term focus of adjusting Arc into a decentralized autonomous organization by expanding validator participation and establishing transparent governance.
The stablecoin issuer went on to mention the project’s roadmap and plan for AI integration. Currently, Claude Agent SDK by Anthropic provides AI-powered tools on the network and boosts developer experience.