what is arc
the one sentence version
arc is a Layer 1 blockchain built by circle, the issuer of usdc, where the dollar itself pays for gas: fees are denominated in usdc, target about a cent per transaction, and never spike with a volatile gas token.
what makes it different
settlement is final the moment it happens. arc runs malachite bft consensus: finality is deterministic in under a second, there is no probabilistic waiting period, and there are no reorgs, ever. blocks land about every half second. for trading this means a confirmed fill is final, full stop.
the validators wear suits. block production is a permissioned set of known, regulated financial institutions rather than open validators. the launch partners circle named include goldman sachs, mastercard, and visa. this is a chain built for regulated money that happens to be excellent infrastructure for markets.
the asset set is stablecoin native. usdc is the native asset (18 decimals at the evm level), eurc runs beside it, and usyc, a yield bearing treasury asset, is next in circle's own launch materials. a seven currency stablecoin roster (aud, brl, jpy, krw, mxn, php, cad issuers) is joining the ecosystem, built for fx onchain. opt in privacy with control (view keys and auditability, not anonymity) is on the roadmap, and circle has published a post quantum security roadmap for the chain.
where arc is today
arc mainnet is live as chain id 5042, with native usdc as the gas asset and the canonical uniswap v4 poolmanager deployed on chain. it is early in the honest sense of the word: there is no public block explorer yet (we verified arcscan.app and explorer.mainnet.arc.io simply do not resolve, so we run our own read only viewer at pmav.fun/x), circle's own documentation has lagged the chain itself, and getting usdc onto arc still takes a bridge with sharp edges (our bridge guide explains). the public testnet keeps running as chain id 5042002 with free usdc from faucet.circle.com, and it remains the zero risk place to practice.
does arc have a token
yes, an ARC token exists on paper, and no, you cannot buy it. circle published an arc whitepaper describing ARC as the network's native token, and on 11 may 2026 it closed a $222 million private placement of 740 million ARC at $0.30, valuing the network at $3 billion fully diluted, led by a16z crypto with blackrock, apollo, ark invest, intercontinental exchange and others (cnbc).
what that does not mean: the token is not launched, there is no public sale, and no airdrop or retroactive distribution has been announced by circle. the presale was a private placement exempt from registration under the us securities act. treat any account promising you an arc airdrop as what it is. we have no token either, on arc or anywhere, and we have never sold one.
where pmav fits
circle's own ecosystem directory spans global banks, custodians, exchanges, lending protocols, and DEX partners from uniswap to curve, and still lists not one launchpad. outside that directory the launchpads arrived anyway, ours among them. pmav, the fair launch platform live on robinhood chain, deployed to the arc public testnet on 25 july 2026 and to arc mainnet in the week it opened: every coin is a real uniswap v4 pool priced in native usdc, the fair launch rules are enforced by the hook rather than by policy, and graduation locks liquidity in place at the $42,069 market cap identity. compare us against the others on the arc launchpads page, which names them.
launch a meme coin on arc → · buy meme coins on arc → · bridge usdc to arc → · the arc launchpad →