Circle acquires Malachite, a consensus engine based on Tendermint, to build Arc, a blockchain specialized in stablecoin payments.
Arc aims to become a global infrastructure for USDC, reducing friction in cross-border payments, in a stablecoin market headed towards $1 trillion.
The acquisition is part of a strategic battle against Tether, PayPal, and even central banks, with a clear goal: establish USDC as the standard for digital dollars.
Circle Acquires Malachite Consensus Engine
Circle, the company behind USDC with its $65 billion in circulation, is accelerating its strategy: it has just acquired Malachite, the consensus engine developed by Informal Systems. The clear objective is to build Arc, a next-generation blockchain designed for one central purpose, stablecoin finance.
A Decisive Move for the USDC Issuer
Behind the scenes, several engineers from Informal Systems are joining Circle. The acquisition price remains confidential, but the announcement comes at a time when blockchains dedicated to stablecoins are emerging as a strong trend in the sector.
Why Arc Changes the Game
Arc is not just another general-purpose blockchain. Circle aims to make it a specifically calibrated Layer 1 for payments and global circulation of stablecoins. As the stablecoin market heads towards a trillion dollars, the company aims to establish itself as the essential infrastructure for digital dollar transfers; and the competition is fierce.
Specifically, this approach aims to eliminate the remaining frictions in cross-border payments, often costly and slow. Circle hopes that Arc will become the financial highway for USDC, a token already widely used by institutions, DeFi protocols, and merchants.
Malachite: Technological Foundation Tailored for Speed
The Malachite consensus is based on the Tendermint algorithm, known for its robustness and speed. Designed by Informal Systems as a reusable foundation, it emphasizes performance and security in decentralized environments.
Circle does not lock the technology: Malachite will remain open source under the Apache 2.0 license. In other words, the community can continue to use and improve it, beyond the scope of Arc. Informal Systems, on the other hand, continues to develop other projects related to distributed systems and cross-chain infrastructure.
A Strategic Battle in the Stablecoin Market
By launching Arc, Circle is not only securing the future of USDC. The company is positioning itself against rival ambitions: Tether, PayPal, and even central bank initiatives. Ultimately, the stakes are enormous: dominating the next generation of financial infrastructures, where the digital dollar will circulate at the speed of a click.
The rise of these specialized blockchains shows a clear trend: stablecoins are no longer just liquidity instruments in DeFi. They are becoming the foundation of a future globalized payment system, capable of competing with SWIFT and Visa.
With Arc, Circle aims to prove that the future of programmable money is now, and that USDC is ready to take the pole position.
