Nikolas Sargeant
Stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group plans to concentrate on building more robust infrastructure throughout 2026 to accelerate adoption among companies and institutions as the sector transitions from speculative trading tool to mainstream payment mechanism.
Circle chief product and technology officer Nikhil Chandhok stated in a Thursday blog post the company aims to advance Arc, its layer-1 blockchain designed for institutional and large-scale use, from testnet toward production deployment. The blockchain represents Circle's attempt to create purpose-built infrastructure for enterprise stablecoin applications rather than relying entirely on existing public networks.
Simultaneously, Circle plans to deepen the utility and reach of its tokens—USDC, EURC, USYC, and partner-launched stablecoins—by expanding to additional blockchain networks. "That means 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," Chandhok explained.
Stablecoins emerged as one of the most prominent cryptocurrency topics in 2025 as the United States passed legislation regulating the tokens and institutions and banks explored launching proprietary stablecoins. The regulatory clarity provided by the GENIUS Act has accelerated institutional interest in stablecoin applications for treasury management, cross-border payments, and settlement infrastructure.
Circle stated it would scale its applications, including its payments network, enabling institutions to adopt stablecoin payments "rather than building and operating the underlying infrastructure themselves." The approach positions Circle as infrastructure provider rather than requiring clients to develop technical capabilities internally.
The stablecoin issuer will continue investing in developing USDC seamlessly across blockchain networks, improving user experience by streamlining "chain complexities" and creating enhanced developer tools, Chandhok said. The multi-chain strategy addresses fragmentation challenges that have complicated stablecoin adoption by requiring users to manage assets across incompatible networks.
"In addition, we will continue to expand our partner and developer ecosystem to build utility and extend global scale and reach to bring the benefits of stablecoin and internet-scale finance to more markets and use cases," Chandhok added, emphasizing Circle's platform approach to ecosystem development.
USDC maintains the second-largest share of stablecoin market capitalization among US dollar-pegged tokens, with over $70 billion according to DeFi data aggregator DefiLlama. Tether's USDT is the largest, accounting for over $186 billion of the total $306 billion stablecoin market capitalization.
The stablecoin sector surpassed $300 billion in market capitalization for the first time in October 2025, driven primarily by USDT, USDC, and Ethena Labs' yield-bearing stablecoin USDe. The growth reflects expanding use cases beyond cryptocurrency trading into remittances, corporate treasury applications, and decentralized finance protocols.
