Circle Pushes Durable Stablecoin Stack for Institutions

• Circle is moving its Arc layer-1 blockchain from testnet to full production to support large-scale business operations.
• New US laws like the GENIUS Act are providing the legal framework that banks need to use stablecoins.
• USDC currently holds a massive presence with over $70 billion in circulation as it expands to more blockchains.

Circle Internet Group, the stablecoin giant, is making a major move to change how the world moves money. 

Further along into 2026, the company now appears to be moving its focus toward building “durable” tools for the world’s largest companies. 

In short, Circle wants to move beyond the experimental phase and create a world where stablecoins are a part of every business.

Moving the Arc Blockchain Toward Production

Circle is placing a huge bet on its own technology. The company recently announced that its Arc blockchain is moving from the testing phase into full production. 

This layer-1 network is specifically designed for the needs of big financial institutions, and it handles large-scale transactions with the kind of speed and efficiency that banks expect.

Unlike many public blockchains, Arc is focused on real-world economic activity. 

It uses USDC as its native token for transaction fees, which keeps costs predictable for businesses. The network also offers sub-second finality, which means that payments are settled almost instantly. 

For a large corporation, being able to move millions of dollars in under a second is a game-changer.

Deepening the Reach of USDC

Circle’s strategy for the year is to expand the use cases of USDC and its other stablecoins, like EURC and USYC. 

This involves bringing these assets to even more blockchain networks. The goal is to make it easy for institutional users to hold and move these tokens as part of their daily work.

Circle is also scaling its applications, like the Circle Payments Network to allow companies to use stablecoin payments without having to build the whole tech themselves. 

Navigating a More Competitive Stablecoin Market

The push for institutional adoption comes at a time when the stablecoin market is highly competitive.

While USDC is a leader in the US market, other players are moving in, and Tether even recently launched USAT for the United States’ market. 

This marks the first major direct rival to USDC in its home territory.

According to data from DefiLlama, USDC currently holds the second-largest market cap among dollar-pegged tokens. It has over $70 billion in circulation, even though it still trails Tether’s USDt. 

The total stablecoin market has even recently passed the $300 billion mark and now, with more banks launching their own tokens, Circle is working hard to keep its top spot.

Why Institutions Are Moving On-chain Now

Several factors are coming together to to influence these developments, especially in the US.

For example, the passage of the GENIUS Act in the United States has been a massive catalyst. This law has provided the regulatory clarity that CLOs in Wall Street have been waiting for and has classified certain stablecoins as “permitted” cash equivalents.

This gives companies the confidence to hold them on their balance sheets.

Financial leaders are now seeing stablecoins as a way to optimise capital. Instead of waiting days for cross-border wire transfers to clear, they can now use stablecoin rails for 24/7 settlement.