Circle's CTO Nikhil Chandhok discusses the launch of ARC Mainnet, a Layer 1 blockchain with unique features such as stablecoin gas fees, sub-second finality, and privacy via TEEs. He outlines Circle's vision for an 'Economic OS' that integrates financial infrastructure for both traditional institutions and emerging AI agent commerce, including agent credit markets and permissionless deployment.
Summarized by Podsumo
ARC Mainnet launches with stablecoin gas fees in USDC, sub-second finality, and a permissioned validator set to attract institutional traffic.
ARC incorporates a privacy sector using TEEs for true private transactions, with plans for post-quantum signatures and verifiable compute.
Circle is building primitives for AI agent commerce, including agent marketplaces, reputation systems, and micro-payments using nano payments.
The network aims to facilitate tokenized real-world assets and stable FX by partnering with local stablecoins and providing liquidity pools.
ARC's immutability is emphasized; Circle will not roll back the chain for exploits, focusing instead on security audits and app-layer safety.
"Today is the day of our launch. We're launching ARC Mainnet. We've been working on it for years. We're very proud of the launch today. So it's the first day of a very long journey for us."
"Gas is in stablecoins, starting with USDC, so you don't have to hold a native network token. For companies transacting in RWAs, this is a very significant hurdle to cross."
"Privacy is a property of verifiable compute. We have a privacy sector using TEEs; nobody can look inside those transactions, not even Circle."