Arc, the Circle-backed network built around stablecoin finance, has not yet opened its public mainnet. Trading interest has already arrived anyway, and much of it is concentrating on launchpads and meme tokens.
According to the project’s stated timeline in the source article, Arc will open its public mainnet on Sept. 16. The chain is being pitched around stablecoin finance, and some traders are treating it as another early-stage network where attention can gather before the official rollout is complete.
What Arc is
Arc is described as an EVM-compatible Layer 1 created by Circle, the issuer of USDC. Its positioning is straightforward: a chain purpose-built for stablecoin finance. The slogan cited in the article is “the internet’s economic operating system.”
Four features stand out in the source material:
- Gas is paid in USDC, with fees denominated in dollars, so users do not need to stockpile a volatile native gas token first.
- Finality is said to arrive in about one second, using the Malachite consensus engine.
- The chain is EVM-compatible, which means Solidity, wallets and tools such as Uniswap can largely be used directly or adapted with limited friction.
- Validator participation is permissioned, so block-producing nodes are not open to everyone.
The article frames Arc as a shift in Circle’s role. Instead of only issuing dollars on other chains, Circle would also control a settlement layer built around those dollars. For institutions, the cited appeal is predictable fees, instant settlement and a compliance-friendly access point.
Its financing background is also part of the story. The article says Arc raised $222 million in a presale in May 2026 at a fully diluted valuation of about $3 billion, led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), with participation from BlackRock, Apollo and ICE.
For retail traders, the attraction is different. Arc is being watched as a new chain with backing that has already drawn recognition from Wall Street firms, and that has put early meme coins and platform tokens on the radar.
Where money may move on Arc
The source article splits the current Arc trade into three layers.
Layer one: live memes and launchpads
The typical early-chain sequence is described this way: stablecoins enter first, launchpad tokens come next, a few narrative leaders emerge, and platform tokens follow.
Arc differs from many other networks because creation, buying and selling all use USDC directly. That lowers friction compared with the more common route of first buying a chain’s native token and then rotating into meme assets. The article also flags the uncertainty ahead: once the public mainnet and official bridging are live, these early “old coins” could either keep first-mover status or be displaced by newer money.
Layer two: DeFi and trading terminals
Fomo and edgeX have already publicly committed to integrating on day one, according to the article. It also lists Uniswap, Aerodrome, Aave and Morpho as expected names, along with market makers FalconX, GSR and Keyrock.
Layer three: tokenized assets and ARC itself
BUIDL and DTC tokenization are not expected to be broadly rolled out until 2027, the article says. ARC also comes with a lock-up period, which is why it is not presented as the main target of current speculative flows on-chain. For traders interested in Payfi, the source suggests this longer-dated layer deserves closer study.
Launchpad-related tokens getting attention
TOLLY
TOLLY is cited at roughly $2.47 million in market value, with contract address 0xbc43ce8dec648ea298c4275559b81d6261c90b67.
The article describes it as the platform token for the Tolly launchpad plus DEX. New projects do not use a bonding curve. Instead, the full supply goes directly into a permanently locked USDC pool. Trading carries a 1% fee. Of the USDC generated on buys, about 64% goes to creators, 12% to holder rewards and 10% to the protocol, while the remainder is used to buy back and burn both TOLLY and the related project token. Project-token fees generated on sells are fully burned.
The core bet is that Tolly could become Arc’s main issuance venue and capture launch traffic across the chain.
WARP
WARP is cited at roughly $870,000 in market value, with contract address 0x384c60f98ecd4c26345499345c03d677e40f115e.
The token is tied to a launchpad and trading-terminal setup. It uses a bonding curve, and once market value reaches about $69,000, liquidity is migrated to WarpDex and the LP is burned. The project plans to use Circle’s Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol, or CCTP, so that USDC can be burned on Ethereum, Base and Arbitrum, minted on Arc and then used to buy automatically.
The article’s thesis is that WARP could become a cross-chain issuance gateway into Arc, giving users something closer to a no-bridge-feeling experience when moving USDC from other chains into the same curve pool on Arc.
Meme tokens being watched on Arc
COOL
Listed in the article as http://1.COOL, COOL is cited at roughly $2.94 million in market value, with contract address 0xeb64987643db71c76b2a2be7e723decc995e5b37.
It is a meme coin built by the community around the mascot of a webpage that tracks USDC activity. The image is described as a blue stablecoin character wearing sunglasses.
Architects
Architects is cited at roughly $820,000 in market value, with contract address 0x8bcb94279fc2c984ec34e0c1f2192df8c69ea4f0.
The name comes from repeated use of the term “Architects” by Circle and Arc when referring to community contributors. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire has also used the term, according to the article.
ARCAT
ARCAT is cited at roughly $710,000 in market value, with contract address 0x07704b06981ea962b87296362a1281484d160000.
The token is described as one of the earlier Arc-themed cat memes, inspired by the “Cat Bat Hat Fat Rat” video previously shared by USDC’s official account.
BEANCAT
BEANCAT is cited at roughly $275,000 in market value, with contract address 0x41c8A71f630c636294009fa4FB0CC4c3bBE674fe.
It references an early historical avatar used by the @arc account, described as a “bean cat” image from around 2012. The article says the community compares it with CashCat on other chains.
Getting Arc USDC first
A practical issue comes up quickly: holding regular USDC is not enough to buy these Arc-based assets. Traders need Arc USDC.
Based on the route summarized by the community in the article, one of the more direct ways to get it is through the OTC marketplace Unstable at https://unstabletrd.com. Users can use USDC on Ethereum mainnet to buy from sellers that already hold Arc USDC, with sellers setting their own quotes.
That route is expensive at the moment. Because supply is tight, Arc USDC is trading at a steep premium. The reference rate cited in the article is roughly 1.8 Arc USDC to 1 USDC, and Unstable also charges a 3% fee. That makes entering Arc meaningfully more costly.
Network details provided in the article
If a wallet does not detect Arc automatically after users obtain Arc USDC, the network can be added manually with the following parameters:
- Name: ARC Mainnet
- RPC URL: rpc.arc-scan.org
- Chain ID: 5042
- Symbol: USDC
The article also gives a backup RPC endpoint in case the main one is slow: http://niorfun.com/api/rpc
Risks before trading
The article closes with a clear warning. Assets trading now are private-mainnet Arc assets and do not have official backing. Public-mainnet RPC details, the block explorer and official bridge parameters should still be taken from Circle’s own releases. Community nodes are reported to lag, and failed transactions are common.
Liquidity is another issue. Some early leaders may show market capitalizations in the millions of dollars, but the underlying pools may hold only tens of thousands to $100,000. That leaves both entries and exits vulnerable to sharp price impact.
In that setup, the source identifies four points that matter most: contract quality, liquidity, launchpad quality and entry levels.