Circle Unveils Layer-1 Blockchain Arc, Reports $428 Million Q2 Loss

Circle (CRCL) reported a second-quarter net loss even as circulation of the second-largest stablecoin, USDC, almost doubled from the year-earlier period and on-chain transaction volume more than quintupled to $5.9 trillion.

The company also said it is developing a layer-1 blockchain “designed to provide an enterprise-grade foundation for stablecoin payments, FX, and capital markets applications.” A public testnet for the Arc blockchain is scheduled to live in the next few months.

Arc is Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible and uses USDC as its native gas token, has an integrated stablecoin FX engine, and sub-second settlement finality along with “opt-in privacy controls,” the company said.

Circle’s is not the first stablecoin-focused blockchain on the blocks. Others include Plasma, which drew over $373 million in an oversubscribed token sale, and Stable, focused on USDC’s larger rival, Tether’s USDT. Payments company Stripe is reportedly also building its own stablecoin-focused chain, called Tempo.

In its first quarter as a publicly traded company, Circle said USDC’s share of the stablecoin market rose to 28%. Total revenue and reserve income increased 53% to $658 million, driven by higher average USDC balances. The company posted a net loss of $482 million, largely due items related to the June IPO. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (Ebidta) rose 52% to $126 million, the company said.

Interest in the $270 billion stablecoin sector has been accelerating after President Donald Trump signed the GENIUS Act into law. The act bolstered the industry by creating a federal regulatory framework for payment stablecoins in the U.S.

Shares of Circle rose 6.35% to $171.41 in pre-market trading.