Circle to strengthen stablecoin infrastructure in 2026 and push Arc toward production

Circle Internet Group plans to focus on building more durable stablecoin infrastructure throughout 2026 to spur greater adoption among companies and institutions, Circle chief product and technology officer Nikhil Chandhok said in a blog post on Thursday. Chandhok said the company aims to push Arc, its layer-1 blockchain designed for institutional and large-scale use, from testnet toward production and to deepen the utility and reach of its tokens — USDC, EURC, USYC and partner-launched stablecoins — by expanding to more chains.

He said this work will involve deepening native support on high-impact networks, tightening integration with Arc, and making it easier for institutional users to hold, move, and program with these assets as part of their everyday operations. Circle also plans to scale applications such as its payments network so institutions can adopt stablecoin payments rather than building and operating the underlying infrastructure themselves.

The company said it will continue investing in USDC across chains, streamline "chain complexities," and create better developer tools while expanding its partner and developer ecosystem. The moves come after a year in which stablecoins drew major attention: stablecoins were among the hottest crypto topics in 2025 as the U.S.

passed laws to regulate the tokens and institutions and banks eyed launching their own. According to DeFi data aggregator DefiLlama, USDC holds the second-largest share of U.S.

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