Expanded Integration of Circle's Arc Blockchain in the Stablecoin Sector
Circle, a well-known company in the digital currency space, has unveiled its latest innovation - an Ethereum-compatible blockchain called Arc. This new blockchain is designed to cater to the needs of stablecoin finance and traditional financial markets.
Predictable, Stable Gas Fees
Arc uses USDC, a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar, for transaction fees instead of a volatile token like ETH. This results in low, predictable, and dollar-denominated gas fees, enabling businesses and users to budget transaction costs with certainty and avoid fee spikes common on other chains.
Sub-Second Deterministic Finality
To ensure fast transaction finality, Arc employs a high-performance consensus mechanism called Malachite. This Byzantine Fault Tolerant protocol delivers final transaction settlement in under one second, providing deterministic finality that is critical for payment and financial services applications. Once a transaction is confirmed, it's irreversible, reducing risks associated with chain reorganizations.
Built-In Foreign Exchange (FX) Engine
Arc includes an institutional-grade FX engine enabling real-time price discovery and peer-to-peer settlement of stablecoins like USDC and EURC on-chain. This engine supports large foreign exchange markets, including over-the-counter FX and derivative settlements, aiming to bridge traditional FX markets and blockchain infrastructure.
Opt-In Privacy Features
To meet compliance and privacy needs, Arc offers selective privacy options. Users can shield transaction amounts and balances while keeping addresses public, balancing confidentiality with regulatory requirements.
Integration with Traditional Finance (TradFi) Requirements
Arc is designed to comply with regulated financial standards, featuring built-in compliance tools and supporting issuance and settlement of regulated real-world assets (RWAs) such as tokenized equities and bonds. Circle collaborates with licensed entities to ensure regulatory alignment, enabling seamless integration with existing financial institutions and infrastructure.
EVM Compatibility and Ecosystem Integration
Arc is fully compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), allowing developers to leverage existing Ethereum tools and infrastructure. This compatibility facilitates a smooth transition and interoperability with Ethereum applications while optimizing for stablecoin transaction efficiency.
In essence, Arc targets the needs of stablecoin payments at scale, offering predictable, stable gas fees, ultra-fast and irreversible settlements, and a robust FX market integration, all built with compliance and traditional financial ecosystem connectivity in mind. Gas fees on the Arc blockchain will be paid in USDC.
- The new Arc blockchain, as presented by Circle, uses USDC for gas fees to ensure low, predictable, and dollar-denominated transaction costs, which is a significant advantage for businesses and users who want to budget costs effectively.
- Arc employs a high-performance consensus mechanism called Malachite, resulting in sub-second deterministic finality for transactions, providing essential speed and finality that is crucial for payment and financial services applications.
- Integral to Arc is an institutional-grade foreign exchange (FX) engine, which enables real-time price discovery and peer-to-peer settlement of stablecoins like USDC and EURC on-chain, bridging traditional FX markets and blockchain infrastructure.
- Recognizing the need for compliance and privacy, Arc includes selective privacy options, allowing users to shield transaction amounts and balances while keeping addresses public, thereby maintaining a balance between confidentiality and regulatory requirements.