Setting aside the public opinion sparked by ARC’s Indian development team in the community and the sharp drop in meme coins and ecosystem tokens, the ACR chain is still worth introducing. ## TL;DR Arc mainnet officially launched on September 16. It positions itself as the “economic operating system” for the internet: using USDC as native gas, sub-second finality, EVM compatible, and offering an optional compliance privacy layer. The genesis validator list reads like a global financial infrastructure directory (BlackRock, DTCC, ICE, Visa, Mastercard, Standard Chartered, SBI, Galaxy). On launch day, the ecosystem already featured a star-studded lineup, including DeFi partners (Aave, Uniswap, etc.), wallets (MetaMask), and exchanges (Robinhood). ## Technical Positioning: Designed for Institutions, Not Crypto-Native Users Arc’s three core design choices target traditional financial institutions rather than on-chain speculators. <ol><li>Native Gas: Fees are denominated in USD and paid in USDC, making costs predictable and bookable without exposure to native token volatility;</li><li>Consensus: Malachite (Informal Systems team, derived from Tendermint) delivers sub-second deterministic finality, eliminating the need to wait for 6 confirmations—suitable for POS acquiring, spot FX, and broker clearing;</li><li>Execution Layer: Reth, fully EVM compatible + optional privacy (EVM precompile, preserving audit disclosure channels). Retains the Solidity toolchain; privacy is placed on the compliance side.</li></ol> It also includes a built-in FX engine. Since launch, the testnet has processed approximately 2.441 billion transactions. ## Ecosystem: Fully Loaded at Launch Circle did not let the mainnet run empty: on launch day there were already 100+ applications, 100+ institutions, and ecosystem builders. <ul><li>DeFi: Aave, Uniswap, Curve, Morpho, Aerodrome, Euler, Fluid</li><li>Market Makers: FalconX, Galaxy, GSR, Keyrock, Nonco, XFX</li><li>Payments: Rain, Thunes, Wirex</li><li>Entry Points: MetaMask as default wallet; Binance Wallet as the first to support; KuCoin already enabled direct USDC deposits and withdrawals; OpenSea supported on launch day; Robinhood also announced support for Arc network USDC deposits and withdrawals</li><li>Oracles: Chainlink deployed on launch day (via Chainlink Scale)</li></ul> The significance of this list: Arc’s cold-start risk has essentially been underwritten by capital and distribution channels. ## Token: Minted, But Not Issued The whitepaper discloses a total supply of 10 billion ARC, allocated as Ecosystem Development 60% / Protocol Development &amp; Operations 25% / Long-term Reserve 15%; initial inflation of 2–3% for validator and staking rewards. On the fee mechanism, fees paid in any supported currency are automatically swapped by the protocol into ARC; a portion rewards validators and the rest is permanently burned, designed to offset inflation through burns. Circle previously raised $222 million via ARC token presale (2026/5/11, valuation ~$3 billion), with investors including BlackRock, ICE, Standard Chartered, SC Ventures, ARK Invest, General Catalyst, and IDG. However, at mainnet launch Circle reiterated: genesis minting of 10B does not imply a public token issuance. The Arc project TGE status remains “pre,” with no publicly tradable price. ⚠️ Any token named “ARC” listed on exchanges belongs to other projects or memes—do not buy by mistake. ## Market Reaction: Stocks Fell First CRCL weakened on the day of mainnet launch, indicating the market viewed the ARC launch as a priced-in event and that short-term focus is on “Circle spending to build the chain, but may not receive token dividends.”<img src="https://static2.fansone.co/images/e08983f5-bfa0-4763-b3e0-f0a9c312fd9a.avif" /> ## Conclusion Arc is not competing with other L1s for DeFi users; it is betting on “after stablecoins become the global payment pipeline, who will serve as the operating system for that pipeline.” Its moat lies in distribution and compliance—none of the validators or ecosystem names are projects that grew via airdrops. Its weaknesses are the centralization discount from a permissioned validator set and reliance on the single entity Circle. Bottom line: At this stage, Arc is an “infrastructure narrative” rather than a “tradable asset.”There is no public token; the only public exposure vehicle is CRCL stock, and the share price has already given a negative response. The three things truly worth tracking: whether actual USDC settlement volume on Arc can ramp up, whether Circle will eventually open ARC for public issuance, and when the validator set will move from permissioned to open. Arc does not want to compete with chains like Solana or Base for retail DeFi users. What Circle wants is this: if the world eventually moves money and makes payments with stablecoins, there will need to be a dedicated chain for that money—and it wants to be that chain. Strengths Arc’s strength lies in “connections,” not technology. Its validators are institutions of the caliber of BlackRock, Visa, Mastercard, and NYSE parent ICE. On day one, major DeFi protocols and wallets were already integrated. Other new chains spend two years issuing airdrops to attract users; Arc had users the moment it booted. Weaknesses Arc has two main weaknesses. First, who can become a validator is decided by Circle; not everyone who wants to join can join. Crypto circles will therefore view it as “not decentralized enough,” and the valuation they are willing to assign will be discounted. Second, the entire chain is essentially tied to a single company, Circle; if Circle runs into trouble, Arc runs into trouble. For retail investors: The ARC token has not been publicly issued. Circle genesis-minted 10 billion ARC but explicitly stated “this does not represent a commitment to issue publicly.” Any ARC trading on the market is not the token of this chain. Meanwhile, Circle’s parent company CRCL stock actually fell more than 6.5% to $80.46 on launch day (a classic “good news already priced in” reaction). Watch three things going forward: Is anyone actually using USDC for settlement on Arc, and can volume scale? Will Circle ultimately issue ARC to the market, and if so, how will it be calculated? And when will the validator set shift from “Circle picks participants” to “anyone can join”? These factors will determine whether it is truly a chain or merely one company’s database.

Circle Arc Chain: First-Hand Assessment After Mainnet Launch

AI chip leader Nvidia is reportedly acquiring open-source AI model platform Hugging Face for $12.9 billion, which would become one of the largest acquisitions in its history if completed. This deal is not just about the financial figures but a key move in Nvidia's AI software and ecosystem strategy. Deal Background According to media reports, Nvidia has in principle agreed to acquire Hugging Face for $12.9 billion, a significant premium over the $4.5 billion valuation from the 2023 Series D round. Notably, Nvidia participated in Hugging Face's funding back in 2023 with an investment of $235 million and is now taking the whole thing. It is reported that Hugging Face rejected a $500 million investment proposal from Nvidia last year at a $7 billion valuation, but is now selling at nearly double that price, showing the strategic value of open-source AI platforms has surged dramatically in just one year. Why Hugging Face? Hugging Face is known as the "GitHub of the AI world," serving as the core hub for developers worldwide to share, test, and deploy open-source large language models and datasets. For Nvidia, acquiring Hugging Face means gaining control of the "distribution network" for open-source AI models, further strengthening its vertical integration advantage from chips and cloud to the model ecosystem. Against the backdrop of closed-source model companies like OpenAI and Anthropic developing their own chips to reduce reliance on Nvidia, this move aims to reinforce Nvidia's influence over the open-source ecosystem and avoid marginalization. Market Impact and Risks If the deal completes, Nvidia would transform from a pickaxe-selling chip supplier into an AI platform giant controlling models, tools, and communities. However, this could also trigger regulatory scrutiny, especially concerns from the open-source community about "platform monopolization." Neither party has made an official announcement yet, and the deal could still fall through due to regulatory or negotiation variables. Regardless, the transaction has sent a clear signal: in the next phase of the AI war, ecosystem control is more important than raw chip performance alone. For investors, Nvidia's acquisition strategy shows it is no longer content with its hardware leader status but is actively expanding into software and application layers, with its long-term growth narrative shifting from AI chips to AI infrastructure.

Nvidia Acquires Hugging Face: A Key Step in Securing the AI Ecosystem

What is UTXO (Unspent Transaction Output)? Bitcoin's accounting method differs from bank accounts (Account); it doesn't look at the account's "total balance" figure. Instead, every amount of money you receive (no matter how much) is treated as an independent bill stored away. These bills that haven't been spent yet are called UTXO (Unspent Transaction Output). When you want to spend money, you actually take certain UTXOs as inputs, and the change becomes a new UTXO. This mechanism is very important for on-chain analysis, because each UTXO records the time and amount of its "birth." Analysts can track when these UTXOs are spent and whether the spenders are short-term speculators or long-term holders to gauge market sentiment and coin distribution. Many well-known indicators, such as SOPR and HODL Waves, are calculated based on UTXO data. Therefore, changes in the quantity and structure of UTXOs themselves act as a thermometer for on-chain sentiment. Example Explanation:<img src="https://static2.fansone.co/images/09ca2d38-3ec6-4321-abca-ad209d697feb.avif" />----This chart is called UTXO Count by Script Type. In simple terms, it counts which address technologies are used for the "unspent money" on the Bitcoin blockchain. The earliest is P2PKH (legacy addresses starting with 1), shown as the large orange area. Later, P2SH (starting with 3) supporting multisig appeared, shown in light yellow. After the 2017 SegWit upgrade, the fee-saving native address P2WPKH (starting with bc1q) appeared, shown as the blue area. The really interesting part is the purple surge starting in 2023 — P2TR, or Taproot addresses (starting with bc1p). This surge aligns perfectly with the Ordinals inscription boom. Because inscriptions heavily use Taproot scripts to embed data, pushing the total on-chain UTXO count to a historical high of nearly 190 million. However, from mid-2024 onward, the total UTXO count began to slowly decline. This usually indicates cooling inscription activity, along with large holders or miners starting to perform "UTXO consolidation." In plain terms, it means merging many small change UTXOs into larger ones, preparing in advance for future fee environments. So, on-chain analysis isn't just about transfer amounts; even changes in address technologies can reflect market sentiment and behavior.

Bitcoin On-Chain Analysis Basic Concepts - UTXO

SpaceX (SPCX) Post-IPO Valuation Reshaping, Industry Competitive Landscape, and In-Depth Analysis of Secondary Market Investment Value #SPCX

🔥 本周（0520-0526）是今年以來加密貨幣市場最精彩的一週。美國SEC對以太坊的以太幣（ETH）現貨 ETF 申請通過了！而這個通過，幾乎是讓人措手不及的快。自從年初比特幣現貨ETF通過SEC核准上市後，市場就不斷猜測下一個進入華爾街資本市場的加密貨幣應該就是以太幣。而該預期在本週之前一直影響ETH的幣價，以至於今年以太幣的表現一直差強人意。不過，現在的情況已經改變，雖然ETH在週五有小幅“sell the news”的價格回調，但以太幣的幣價再創新高已是指日可期。 </p

加密市場週報 0520 - 0526

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Circle Arc Chain: First-Hand Assessment After Mainnet Launch

Nvidia Acquires Hugging Face: A Key Step in Securing the AI Ecosystem

Bitcoin On-Chain Analysis Basic Concepts - UTXO

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