Wall Street giants are rushing in! Circle launches the Arc Testnet, with Goldman Sachs and BlackRock signing on for trial use.

Stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group Inc. recently announced the launch of its Arc Blockchain test version. The Arc Blockchain is designed specifically to directly handle stablecoin payments and is now open for testing and building for developers and enterprises. Several top Wall Street financial institutions, including Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, Apollo Global Management Inc., and Intercontinental Exchange Inc., have signed up to trial the technology. This move marks Circle's active pursuit of a more enduring core position in the digital financial ecosystem based on its stablecoin USDC with a market capitalization of $76 billion, as institutional capital accelerates the application of blockchain technology to the issuance, trading, and settlement of traditional assets.

Circle Launches Arc Blockchain: An Institutional-Grade Network Customized for Stablecoin Payments

After successfully going public in June of this year, Circle is intensifying efforts to diversify its business to ensure it maintains a core competitive edge in the rapidly evolving digital financial sector. The launch of its Arc Blockchain testnet is a key step in this strategy.

Arc Blockchain is built specifically for direct stablecoin payments and has opened testing and building to developers and enterprises on Tuesday. Circle's goal is for the Arc network to ultimately be operated and governed by a group of distributed participants rather than solely dominated by the company.

BlackRock's Global Head of Digital Assets, Robert Mitchnick, stated in a statement: “Exploring Arc will help us gain a deeper understanding of how stablecoin-priced settlements and onchain FX ( capabilities can enable more efficient capital markets.” This clearly indicates that mainstream financial institutions have high expectations for leveraging blockchain to enhance trading efficiency and reduce settlement costs.

) Financial giants and AI giants jointly trial Arc

The test network of Arc Blockchain has attracted numerous heavyweight financial institutions and tech giants, highlighting its enormous potential in the institutional sector.

The list of participating institutions includes:

• Asset Management Giants: BlackRock (, Apollo Global Management Inc., State Street Corp, Deutsche Bank AG, Standard Chartered Plc, Invesco Ltd., etc.
• Investment Banks and Exchanges: Goldman Sachs Group Inc ), Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (, HSBC Holdings plc, etc.
• AI Giants: Anthropic PBC plans to integrate its Claude large language model into the Arc network, enabling developers to access AI tools.

Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire stated in an interview: “We hope to play a very broad role in the development of this new economic system.”

) stablecoin: A faster and cheaper payment rail favored by institutions

Stablecoins, as cryptocurrencies linked to traditional assets like the US dollar, have garnered special attention from banks and other large financial institutions. They are seen as faster and cheaper alternative payment rails.

In addition, stablecoins can also be used as a settlement mechanism for tokenized assets (traditional assets issued and traded on the Blockchain). The enthusiasm of institutions for Arc reflects their desire to use stablecoins as a bridge to bring the efficiency of the Blockchain into traditional financial markets. Circle is leveraging its USDC stablecoin's $76 billion market influence to strive for a dominant position in this new arena.

Conclusion

Circle launched the Arc Blockchain testnet and received collective “endorsement” trials from Wall Street giants such as Goldman Sachs and BlackRock, marking another key milestone in the penetration of blockchain technology from the cryptocurrency market into the traditional capital market. Arc aims to provide a compliant and efficient infrastructure for stablecoin settlement, accelerating the transformation of stablecoins from trading tools to global payment and capital market settlement tools. With the addition of AI giant Anthropic, Arc is painting a future digital financial ecosystem driven by institutional capital, stablecoins, and artificial intelligence.