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Why would BlackRock, Visa, and DTCC all act as “security guards” for a public blockchain that hasn’t even launched its mainnet yet? If there’s a public blockchain that hasn’t launched its mainnet, hasn’t processed real transactions, and hasn’t verified its performance—would you invest in it? Most people wouldn’t. But BlackRock would. Visa would. DTCC would. Mastercard would too. On August 5th, Circle announced a list: BlackRock, DTCC, Galaxy, Global Payments, ICE, Mastercard, Western Union, SBI Group, Standard Chartered Bank, Sumitomo Corporation, Visa. Eleven companies. All top-tier players in Wall Street and global payments. A public blockchain that hasn’t even launched its mainnet has already gathered half of the global financial infrastructure. This isn’t just to “show support.” This is to act as validators—the ones responsible for network security. Think carefully about this logic: Generally, public chain validators are miners, stakers, or tech geeks. But Arc’s validators are BlackRock, Visa, and DTCC. Institutions that rely on network integrity are also responsible for guarding network security. This isn’t “institutions just endorsing,” this is “users as guardians.” DTCC—the clearing hub for almost all securities transactions in the U.S.—acting as a validator, what does that mean? It means Wall Street’s settlement layer is moving onto Arc. Looking at the specific collaborations, it’s even more explosive than the list itself: BlackRock: Deploying BUIDL tokenized money market funds on Arc. Institutional investors can complete subscriptions, redemptions, and fund deployments on-chain in one stop. Traditional fund subscriptions require T+2, paperwork, and many procedures—on Arc, a smart contract handles it all. DTCC: Plans to tokenize DTC-custodied assets on-chain by the second half of 2027, using stablecoins for native settlement. This is no small matter—DTCC handles securities clearing worth trillions of dollars across the U.S. BNY and Standard Chartered: Exploring integration of digital asset custody, forex, and repo infrastructure. This isn’t a “trial run.” This is “moving the core business on-chain.” Here’s another detail. Circle held an Arc token presale in May this year, raising $222 million, valuing the project at $3 billion. a16z led with $75 million. BlackRock, ICE, SBI, and Standard Chartered Ventures all followed. These institutions aren’t new to investing. They’ve invested twice—once as investors, once as validators. Some say: Isn’t Arc just a permissioned blockchain? What about decentralization? But have you thought about it—Wall Street doesn’t want “decentralization,” it wants “trusted centralization.” Regulators want compliance, institutions want security, clearing needs certainty. Arc’s validator model directly elevates compliance standards to Wall Street level. Ethereum solves “trustless.” Arc solves “trustworthy.” These two serve different groups. Circle’s Q2 earnings just came out: revenue $701 million, USDC circulation $73.3 billion, up 19% year-over-year. On-chain transaction volume $14.8 trillion, up 151% year-over-year. USDC is still growing. But USDC’s narrative is about to change. USDC used to be a “stablecoin”—a payment tool, a trading medium. After Arc launches, USDC will become the native currency of Wall Street’s settlement layer. If USDC is Circle’s present, then Arc is what Circle is trying to define—the next-generation financial settlement layer for Wall Street. Arc’s mainnet launches on September 16. At that time, watch for two things: First, whether BlackRock’s BUIDL really takes off. Second, whether DTCC’s tokenization roadmap advances. If these two succeed—the stablecoin narrative will no longer be about “payments,” but about “settlement.” And USDC will be the native currency on that settlement track. A public blockchain that hasn’t even launched its mainnet has gathered half of Wall Street as validators. This isn’t a technology story. This is a power story. $BTC $CRCL $COIN #Circle财报后押注Arc，USDC能否迎来新增长？