Circle Details 2026 Strategy to Unite Arc, USDC and Payments Into an Internet Financial Platform

Overview

• Circle is preparing its Arc blockchain for production after the public testnet logged over 150 million transactions in 90 days with roughly 0.5‑second finality and about 1.5 million transacting wallets.
• USDC circulation rose 108% year over year, which Circle says confirms its position as the largest regulated dollar stablecoin.
• Cross-chain access deepened as CCTP reached $126 billion in cumulative volume across 19 connected blockchains, with Gateway offering chain‑abstracted USDC balances to simplify liquidity.
• The Circle Payments Network, launched in May 2025, has enrolled major financial institutions and reached billions in annualized transaction volume for near‑instant money movement.
• Tokenized cash product USYC reached $1.6 billion in assets under management as of January 27, 2026, with plans to integrate it into onchain treasury, collateral, and capital markets workflows.