Circle plans native token for Arc blockchain as Q3 profit surges
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Stablecoin issuer Circle, the company behind the USDC dollar-pegged stablecoin, is planning a native token for its ARC layer-1 blockchain testnet, an enterprise-focused Ethereum Virtual Machine network.
Circle
According to a statement, Circle’s long-term goal is to pivot Arc to a decentralized governance model of geographically distributed validators:
“Circle is exploring the possibility of launching a native token on the Arc network, which could foster network participation to drive adoption, further align the interests of Arc stakeholders, and support the long-term growth and success of the Arc network.”
Cointelegraph reached out to Circle but had not received a response at time of publication.
Related: Circle’s Arc attracts South Korea’s first won-backed stablecoin experiment
Circle posts strong Q3 financial results
The company also disclosed its financial results for the third quarter of 2025, reporting revenue of $740 million, a 66% year-over-year increase. Circle reported net income of $214 million in Q3, representing a 202% gain over the period.
However, costs also rose, with distribution and transaction costs rising by 74% compared with 2024, totaling $448 million in the last quarter.
Additionally, operating costs rose by 70% in Q3, reaching $211 million, which the company attributed to a 14% increase in its workforce and higher compensation costs for employees.
Circle’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), a critical metric for publicly-traded stocks, increased by 78% year-over-year, totaling $166 million for the quarter.
Appchains: the future of crypto and blockchain?
The launch of the Arc network highlights the growing institutional involvement in crypto and the shift toward application-specific blockchain networks tailored for specific use cases, platforms, and digital assets.
Developers turning to application-specific blockchain networks aim to circumvent the relatively low speed, scalability issues, and high fees associated with general-purpose blockchain networks that handle mixed traffic.
Hyperliquid and Injective protocols are examples of applications built on app-specific layer-1 blockchain networks.
However, critics argue that app-specific blockchains fragment liquidity, are prone to hacking due to centralization, and lack the community support that is a feature of general-purpose blockchain networks with distributed governance.
“Appchains also grossly underestimate the cost of infrastructure and compliance: explorers, custody, exchanges, oracles, bridges, toolkits, integrated development environments, on/off ramps, native issuance and integration, and regulatory compliance,” Andre Cronje, co-founder of Sonic Labs, said.
Marc Boiron, CEO of Polygon Labs, the lead development team for the Polygon layer-2 blockchain network, disagreed with Cronje, arguing that more robust interoperability between blockchain networks is already happening and will solve these issues.
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