The convergence of top industry giants to explore opportunities in cryptocurrencies stems from their belief in the potential for profit. With the advent of the internet, finance has reached unprecedented dimensions, and with the new infrastructure brought by cryptocurrencies, finance is now racing toward its next revolution. Companies like BlackRock, Visa, HSBC, and AWS are taking action for exactly this reason.
Arc Cryptocurrency Network
Circle, along with prominent players such as BlackRock, Visa, HSBC, AWS, and Anthropic, has announced the launch of the Arc cryptocurrency network’s testnet, focusing on payment infrastructure. This move is reminiscent of Tether’s Plasma, focusing on similar goals. Arc can essentially be seen as Circle’s version of Plasma, especially considering Circle is the entity behind USDC.
With features like USD-based fees, sub-second transaction completion, and optional privacy controls, Arc brings real-world financial experiences to the blockchain. Nearly all finance and technology majors have ventured into crypto-related businesses, leaving almost no one out. Over 100 institutions have joined forces for Arc, marking a significant leap for the future of cryptocurrencies.
Cryptocurrencies and Financial Giants
More than 100 institutions, including BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, Visa, and Mastercard, have united for a common purpose. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire underscored the enticing potential of assets and payments worth hundreds of trillions of dollars.
“With Arc’s public testnet, as leading companies commence building and testing protocols and projects, we witness remarkable early momentum. These companies reach out to billions of users, manage, change, and store assets and payments worth hundreds of trillions, while aiding local economies across Africa, America, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Arc’s design uniquely highlights its power: its capacity to connect every local market to the global economy.”
Arc provides companies with opportunities to construct upon an enterprise-level network infrastructure, advancing a shared vision of a more open, inclusive, and efficient global economic system inherently built atop the internet.”
These 100 partners consist of leading companies in their respective fields. For instance, among capital market companies, there’s Intercontinental Exchange Inc, State Street, and Apollo. The banking sector includes firms like Emirates, BlackRock, WisdomTree, Societe Generale, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, Invesco, among others. Payment companies such as Visa, Mastercard, AWS, and close to 20 other major players are also involved.
Robert Mitchnick, BlackRock’s Global Head of Digital Assets, commented on the testnet process:
“Exploring Arc will provide insights into how stablecoin-denominated swaps and onchain FX capabilities can facilitate more efficient capital markets and offer additional benefits for onchain assets.”