Speaking with CNBC’s Sara Eisen on Sidelines the 2025 edition of the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Circle Internet Group (CRCL) described by Jeremy Allaire Arch As “an economic OS for the Internet,” which emphasizes that the main financial flows move in the chain and require predictable cost and performance.
He said the ARC was built for payments, foreign exchange, lending, and capital-markets activity, with dollar-denominated fees, sub-second settlements, and privacy controls intended to let businesses shield sensitive balances or flows as needed. The public testnet Went live October 28, with a Mainnet target for 2026 after developers test smart contracts, transaction flow, and token launch.
Read more: Circle, issuer of USDC, begins testing arc blockchain with large institutions on board
Allaire emphasized USDC as a practical bridge for use cases. He again pushed back on the idea that growth is flat, saying that use will expand through 2025 and that demand from emerging markets is “very significant,” led by companies that want to settle in the dollar without the frictions of legacy cross-border banking. He singled out the Middle East, where businesses use digital dollars to quickly transfer value to trading partners.
That focus aligns with Circle’s UAE plans. Allaire referred to the regulatory measures that position the company to operate in the region and support institutions that want on-chain dollar rail. He also linked the momentum to policy clarity, saying the recent US legislation for StableCoins payments has helped larger companies integrate StableCoin payments, FX, and credit flows.
On the breadth of the ecosystem, Allaire said the ARC announcement involved more than 100 companies across banking, payments, big tech, and AI. He frames ARC’s business model as transactional and ecosystem-driven, with a long-term goal for widely distributed operations and management rather than a walled garden.
The framing is straightforward: arch provides a dollar-priced, high-throughput environment for StableCoin-native finance, while USDC serves as the settlement and payment unit developers can plan around. Allaire’s message to businesses is that predictable costs, quick turnarounds, and data-friendly privacy can move more than just the “financial guts” of commerce on programmed rails.
