Circle is witnessing a rapid consolidation of financial heavyweights around its Arc testnet, as competitors from Goldman Sachs to Visa begin aligning on a common technological standard for the future of money movement.
Summary
- Circle launched Arc testnet, bringing more than 100 major banks and payment firms onto shared blockchain settlement rails.
- Institutions including Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, and Visa are testing faster settlement, programmable payments, and global interoperability.
- Arc aims to evolve into a neutral, community-run network supporting multi-currency stablecoin infrastructure.
On Oct. 28, USDC issuer Circle announced the public testnet launch of Arc, a Layer 1 blockchain designed to give banks, market infrastructure providers, and global payment networks a single programmable environment to test real-world asset settlement.
Circle said over 100 organizations across traditional finance, fintech, and digital asset markets are already plugged into the network, including State Street, Deutsche Bank, BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, and Visa.
The testnet creates a controlled setting for institutions that normally compete head-to-head to evaluate shared technical rails built around faster settlement, predictable dollar-based fees, and privacy options tailored for regulated markets.
“Combined, these companies reach billions of users, move, exchange, and custody hundreds of trillions in assets and payments, and support local economies across Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. This geographic diversity highlights a defining strength of Arc: its purpose-built to connect every local market to the global economy,” Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said.
Circle tests a network built to outgrow its creator
While Circle is currently stewarding the Arc testnet, its lon
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Author: Brian Danga
