Circle 'Exploring' Arc Network Token Launch, Proof-of-Stake Shift: CEO

In brief

• Circle is “exploring” a token for Arc Network, its stablecoin-focused layer-1 blockchain, the firm’s CEO Jeremy Allaire said.
• The roadmap also includes plans to move Arc over to a proof-of-stake system.
• Allaire added that “we hope to go to mainnet soon” with Arc, with a mainnet beta launch earmarked for 2026.

Circle is “exploring” a token for its stablecoin-focused Layer-1 blockchain Arc Network, the firm’s CEO Jeremy Allaire has stated. Speaking at a company event in Seoul, Allaire said that the token would “help provide mechanisms for governance, incentives, economic alignment, and to ultimately move it into a proof-of-stake system over time.” He added that “we hope to have more to share about that in the not too distant future as well.”

That aligns with Circle’s plan to evolve Arc into a “distributed, community-driven system,” with a roadmap including expanding validator participation and establishing community governance frameworks. Circle has previously teased the possibility of a native token for its payments blockchain, including during the firm’s Q4 2025 earnings call, with Tuesday’s latest mention reinforcing the notion that a token launch could be on the horizon.  Allaire noted that “we hope to go to mainnet soon” with Arc, reiterating Circle’s plans to launch a mainnet beta in 2026, and touted “major financial companies, global banks, exchanges, the world’s leading payment companies, major technology companies” as collaborators on the project. Circle has previously announced partners including BlackRock, Visa, Goldman Sachs and Amazon Web Services on the Arc public testnet, which launched in October 2025.

Circle (CRCL) shares are up roughly 10% on the day following the announcement, recently trading hands above $108. What is Arc? Launched by USDC issuer Circle, layer-1 blockchain Arc is billed as an “Economic Operating System” designed to support stablecoin-native applications. It aims to address limitations with existing blockchains through offering deterministic finality, predictable fees priced in USDC and other stablecoins, compliant privacy features, and connections to other blockchains and traditional financial systems. Circle is also looking to prepare Arc for the threat posed by quantum computers to the cryptography underpinning blockchains, announcing this month that its mainnet will launch with post-quantum signature support and releasing a roadmap targeting quantum resistance across its wallets, validators, and infrastructure.