Circle Launches Arc Testnet, Opening Doors for Financial Institutions

Circle, the company behind the USDC stablecoin, has launched its new public testnet for its Layer-1 blockchain, Arc. This launch allows developers and financial institutions to begin building applications before a full mainnet deployment. Arc’s key focus is enabling real economic activity like payments, lending, asset settlement, and trading. 100+ companies across banking, fintech, payments, and infrastructure are participating in the testnet, including major banks and asset managers such as BlackRock, HSBC, State Street, and Deutsche Bank, along with tech firms like AWS and Coinbase.