Circle Raises Capital for Arc Network at $3B Valuation

Circle secures funding for its Arc blockchain at a $3B valuation, as USDC transaction volume hits $2.2 trillion, outpacing Tether in on-chain activity.

The funding round values Arc at approximately $3 billion on a fully diluted basis and attracts some of the most influential names in Wall Street and Silicon Valley, including Andreessen Horowitz, BlackRock, Apollo, ICE — the owner of the New York Stock Exchange — as well as ARK Invest and Standard Chartered Ventures.

The move marks a strategic shift for Circle, which until now was primarily perceived as the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, and is now directly entering the race for Layer 1 blockchain infrastructure.

Circle Enters the Battle for Blockchain Infrastructure

According to the company, Arc was developed specifically for institutional payments, tokenization, and high-speed financial operations, with a focus on regulatory compliance and security.

During its testing phase, the network processed over 150 million transactions with an average settlement time of about half a second — a level Circle positions as competitive with traditional financial infrastructure.

Parallel to the token sale, the company also introduced its new “Agent Stack” system — an infrastructure allowing AI agents to manage digital wallets and perform autonomous payments using USDC and Arc.

This puts Circle directly at the center of one of the most aggressively funded themes in the fintech industry: the intersection of artificial intelligence, stablecoin payments, and tokenized financial assets.

CEO Jeremy Allaire stated that Arc should transform Circle into a “broader internet platform,” rather than just a stablecoin issuance company.

USDC Accelerates Pressure Against Tether

The news arrives alongside Circle’s strong financial results for the first quarter of 2026.

The company reported revenue of $694 million, while USDC transaction volume jumped 263% year-over-year to $2.2 trillion.

For the first time in years, USDC has overtaken Tether in on-chain transaction volume — a sign that institutional capital increasingly prefers regulated stablecoin structures.

The market capitalization of USDC has now reached nearly $78 billion, supported by growing use in DeFi, international payments, and corporate settlement systems.

For investors, Arc is much more than a new token project.

It represents Circle’s attempt to control not only the stablecoin but the very infrastructure upon which future digital financial flows move — a strategy that increasingly mirrors the model of major technology platforms building their own ecosystems instead of relying on third-party networks.