BlackRock, Visa, Mastercard, and DTCC are among the 11 founding validators of Circle’s CRCL Arc blockchain, which went live on Wednesday. CEO Jeremy Allaire described it as the most significant launch in the company’s history since the inception of USDC itself.
In its first 24 hours, the blockchain processed 7.83 million transactions, with a focus on non-payment transactions. USDC transfers on the network have reached approximately 624,000, with 400,000 new accounts created and over 73,000 contracts deployed. Transaction fees have also increased significantly to three cents.
Despite the high transaction volume, memecoins dominated the network, leading to skepticism among traders. Some traders have expressed doubts about the future of Arc, with prices of memecoins like TOLLY, LONG, and COOL plummeting by 50-80% from their launch highs.