Solana News Today: Blockchain Joins Forces with Wall Street: Circle's Arc Testnet Transforms the Financial Sector

The Arc blockchain testnet from Circle has gone live, drawing major participation from leading financial and technology companies worldwide. This marks a crucial advancement in merging blockchain technology with mainstream financial systems. Created by

issuer , the testnet provides a safe environment for developers and institutions to trial financial solutions using mock assets, eliminating risks to the main network. More than 100 organizations—including BlackRock, Visa, and Deutsche Bank—are involved in this project, which seeks to establish a global "financial operating system" with near-instant transaction settlement and stable fees, as detailed in . The testnet is engineered for enterprise-level reliability, a necessity for institutions processing large transaction volumes, and reflects the growing adoption of blockchain in capital markets and international payments, according to .

USDC, Circle’s stablecoin, has also seen rapid growth, with its supply reaching $76 billion by October 2025, as reported by

. This expansion is largely attributed to Circle’s collaboration with ClearBank, a UK-based banking-as-a-service provider, to promote USDC and EURC usage across Europe. By integrating these MiCA-compliant stablecoins into ClearBank’s payment infrastructure, the partnership enables instant, affordable cross-border payments, cutting business costs by up to 90%. This move supports the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulations, which require transparent reserves—a standard USDC fulfills through monthly audits by Deloitte, as noted in . Mark Fairless, CEO of ClearBank, described the alliance as a "step toward an open, programmable financial system," emphasizing its transformative potential for global settlements in an article for .

Circle is also broadening its reach to high-speed blockchains such as

, where it recently issued $7.5 billion in USDC in just one hour, reinforcing Solana’s importance in decentralized finance (DeFi). This surge in liquidity has pushed Solana’s total value locked (TVL) above $10 billion, fueled by platforms like Jupiter and Raydium. Experts highlight that USDC’s integration with Solana—which can process 65,000 transactions per second—positions the network as a strong competitor to for institutional applications, according to . This follows other significant mints in October, including a $500 million addition that led to increased trading activity on Solana’s decentralized exchanges, as mentioned in .

USDC’s rise has been fueled by regulatory compliance and institutional confidence. According to JPMorgan analysts, USDC’s market cap has jumped 72% so far this year, surpassing Tether’s 32% growth, as businesses prefer its transparent reserves and MiCA adherence, as reported by

. USDC’s leadership in regulated markets is further supported by partnerships with payment leaders like Visa and Mastercard, enabling instant blockchain settlements. In contrast, is facing regulatory hurdles in Europe due to MiCA non-compliance, prompting some exchanges to remove USDT. However, the same analysis notes that Tether plans to introduce USAT, a MiCA-compliant stablecoin, by the end of the year to address these challenges.

Looking forward, Circle’s Arc testnet is moving toward a community-led governance model, with plans to broaden validator participation to enhance decentralization. CEO Jeremy Allaire highlighted the project’s "impressive early progress," pointing to its potential to open up blockchain infrastructure to smaller businesses and developers, as previously covered by Coinotag. As stablecoins gain traction, platforms like Arc and USDC are set to transform global finance, connecting traditional systems with the speed and efficiency of digital assets.