BlackRock, DTCC, Galaxy, Global Payments, ICE, Mastercard, MoneyGram, SBI Group, Standard Chartered, Sumitomo Corporation, and Visa join Circle as founding validators; major global financial institutions advancing integrations, joining more than 100 ecosystem and institutional builders on Arc private mainnet

Circle Internet Group, Inc. (NYSE: CRCL) today announced the founding validator cohort for Arc, an open blockchain network built for the world's financial markets, real-time money movement, and agentic economic activity. Arc is currently in private mainnet with more than 100 ecosystem and institutional builders and is on track for a public mainnet launch on September 16, 2026. Together the founding validator cohort and major institutional integrations mark significant milestones as Circle prepares to bring the network to public mainnet.

Alongside Circle, Arc’s founding validator cohort – which includes BlackRock, The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), Galaxy, Global Payments, ICE, Mastercard, MoneyGram, SBI Group, Standard Chartered, Sumitomo Corporation, and Visa – represents a new model for onchain infrastructure: a network secured by the institutions building on it, and creating a foundation for trusted, globally distributed operators to help support secure and scalable onchain financial applications. This model allows Arc to meet the trust, security, operational, and compliance standards required of critical financial market infrastructure.

“The future of money movement will not be defined by a single rail, network or form of value. It will be defined by how effectively they work together. As stablecoins and other digital assets move into real-world payments, settlement and treasury flows, Mastercard is focused on helping customers operate across an increasingly diverse payments ecosystem. Our participation as a founding validator on Arc reflects that commitment – supporting trusted, interoperable infrastructure that can help connect emerging blockchain networks with the broader financial systems businesses rely on every day,” said Jorn Lambert, Chief Product Officer, Mastercard.

"Arc reflects where the industry is heading: trusted, compliant, and unified infrastructure that makes stablecoins practical for real-world payments," said Anthony Soohoo, Chairman and CEO, MoneyGram. "We're proud to join the network as a validator and help build infrastructure that supports financial institutions and consumers moving money around the world.”

Ole Matthiessen, Global Head of Transaction Services and Digital Assets, at Standard Chartered, said: "The convergence of traditional finance and digital assets requires an infrastructure that meets the highest standards expected by regulators and institutions. We welcome the upcoming launch of the Arc Network and are pleased to participate as a founding validator bank. We believe this represents a meaningful step forward in advancing trusted, compliant, and secure onchain financial applications, helping to unlock new opportunities for digital assets in institutional finance.”

Rubail Birwadker, Global Head of Growth Product and Partnerships at Visa, said: "Arc represents the kind of compliant, high-trust network infrastructure needed to help support the growth of onchain payments. Visa is proud to participate as a validator and help secure it."

TRACTION WITH MAJOR INSTITUTIONS
As an early signal of Arc's potential to become the always-on settlement layer for global finance, Arc is gaining significant traction with major institutions. BlackRock, BNY, DTCC, and Standard Chartered are each exploring unique integrations with the network, spanning tokenized asset settlement, digital asset custody, stablecoin access, and FX and repo infrastructure.

BUIDL Deploys on Arc
BlackRock is expected to deploy BUIDL, the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund, on Arc, leveraging the network’s native USDC integration. It enables institutional investors to subscribe, redeem, and deploy fund assets within a single onchain environment – removing friction that has historically limited tokenized fund adoption at scale.

“Stablecoins and tokenized assets are inextricably linked within the future of financial market infrastructure,” said Robert Mitchnick, Global Head of Digital Assets at BlackRock. “Purpose-built rails like Arc can support faster settlement, improved collateral mobility, and broader institutional adoption of digital assets. We’re encouraged by this development and look forward to collaborating with industry participants to help unlock the next phase of digital adoption.”

Integration with DTCC Tokenization Service
Circle is collaborating with DTCC, the premier post-trade market infrastructure for the global financial services industry, to enable the tokenization of The Depository Trust Company (DTC) - custodied assets on Arc beginning in the second half of 2027. The connection is intended to enable market participants to utilize third-party applications on Arc that may enable stablecoin-native settlement outside of DTC but against DTC-tokenized assets. This collaboration reinforces DTCC’s commitment to connecting to onchain ecosystems, including trusted stablecoin issuers like Circle.

The integration is aligned with DTCC’s multi-chain strategy, which is designed to enable market participants to leverage the benefits of blockchain and digital ledger technology, such as accelerated settlement, enhanced asset mobility, extended trading hours, and greater cost and operational efficiencies. DTC-tokenized assets will continue to provide the same protections, rights, and safeguards investors receive with traditionally held assets.

“Tokenization can have the greatest impact through open, interoperable networks like Arc that provide market participants with flexibility and choice while meeting our rigorous compliance, transaction throughput, and operational standards,” said Frank LaSalla, DTCC President, CEO and Director. “Our integration with Arc reinforces our commitment to building connected, onchain digital market infrastructure that enables seamless movement of assets and data across ecosystems and lays the foundation for a more efficient, interconnected financial future.”

Permissionless Innovation & Institutional-Grade Infrastructure Come Together

As the platform where open, permissionless innovation, and institutional-grade infrastructure come together, Arc is also set to have a wide range of day one apps and services expected to be live across a range of verticals in the digital asset ecosystem, including:

• Leading DeFi protocols and capital allocators, including Aave, Aerodrome, FalconX, Galaxy, GSR, Keyrock, Morpho, Nonco, Uniswap, and XFX powering liquid markets for borrowing, trading, and onchain capital deployment.
• Stablecoin payments providers including Rain, Thunes, and Wirex for routing real-world stablecoin payment and settlement flows through Arc, spanning card-based settlement, regulated consumer platforms, and global cross-border payment networks.
• Major exchanges and wallet providers including Binance Wallet, Chainlink, Fireblocks, Kraken, Ledger, MetaMask, Uniswap Labs, and Upbit enabling seamless access to USDC on Arc and supporting secure custody and crosschain movement of assets.

"Arc is built on a simple premise: that the global financial system deserves a blockchain network it can trust," said Jeremy Allaire, Co-Founder, CEO, and Chairman of Circle. "With some of the world's most respected financial institutions expected to be live securing the network as validators, more than 100 ecosystem and enterprise builders from the world's largest banks, asset managers, and DeFi protocols already building on Arc private mainnet, Arc is ready for a September 16 launch.”

At launch, Circle will unveil a product suite built around Arc as a platform, including a composable app framework for common onchain workflows, AI-powered tools for building applications and smart contracts, capabilities that help asset issuers deploy and manage tokenized real-world assets, and intuitive interfaces that help developers, users, and agents navigate the Arc ecosystem. Arc's architecture is designed to be open and permissionless at its core, enabling the kind of composable innovation that has driven DeFi, while meeting the trust and compliance standards that traditional finance demands – a combination that has not existed on a single network until now.

About Circle Internet Group, Inc.
Circle (NYSE: CRCL) is one of the world’s leading internet financial platform companies, building the foundation of a more open, global economy through programmable blockchain infrastructure, digital assets, and payment applications. Circle’s platform includes the world’s largest stablecoin network anchored by USDC, Circle Payments Network for global money movement, and Arc, an enterprise-grade blockchain designed to become the Economic OS for the internet. Enterprises, financial institutions, and developers use Circle to power trusted, internet-scale financial innovation.

Disclaimers:
Arc is an open L1 blockchain launched by Arc Network Services LLC ("Arc LLC") and operated by a permissioned validator set. Arc LLC provides software services only and does not offer regulated financial or advisory services. Arc has not been reviewed or approved by the New York State Department of Financial Services or any other regulatory authority.

The Arc network is provided "as is" and "as available." Use of Arc involves inherent risks associated with blockchain technology, including smart contract vulnerabilities, network disruptions, and the absence of recourse for transaction errors or losses. The ability to transact on Arc depends on the ability to obtain and use USDC to pay gas fees. Neither Arc LLC nor any permissioned validator is responsible for the content, accuracy, legality, or functionality of third-party applications, protocols, or services built on or integrated with Arc. You are solely responsible for features or services you provide to users, including obtaining any necessary licenses or approvals and otherwise complying with applicable laws.

All Arc features may be modified, delayed, or cancelled at any time without notice. Nothing herein constitutes a commitment, warranty, guarantee or legal, regulatory, tax, or investment advice. Coming soon.

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