300+ Projects Gearing Up: A Comprehensive Look at Circle’s Native L1 Chain Arc Ecosystem

Original author: Sanqing, Foresight News

Arc, the native public chain for Circle's stablecoin, is currently still in the public testnet phase, with the official mainnet beta launch window set for summer 2026. During this period before the mainnet goes live, a batch of testnet projects has already accumulated significant discussion on platform X, particularly concentrated in categories with lower participation barriers such as NFTs, Launchpads, and Memes. The third-party project directory ArcLens has already listed 308 projects claiming to be building on Arc.

Below is a selection of payment infrastructure teams that have been officially named by Circle and possess verifiable business data, institution-level partners featured on the official Arc ecosystem page, and community projects currently drawing relatively concentrated discussion. Data is as of July 21, 2026. Information is updating rapidly and is for reference only.

1. Payment Infrastructure Teams Funded by Circle

The following 8 teams are part of the first batch of grantees from the Circle Developer Grant program in 2026, focusing on the African and Global South markets.

Officially introduced by the Arc official blog on July 13, 2026, these are among the few projects in the ecosystem that can demonstrate real business data. However, most are enterprise-facing infrastructure services, offering limited participation space for individual users. They are listed below in the order presented by the official blog.

Blockradar (@BlockradarHQ)

A wallet-as-a-service infrastructure providing fintech companies in emerging markets with an integrated API for non-custodial wallet creation, gasless transactions, real-time anti-money laundering screening, fund aggregation, and cross-chain liquidity. According to the Arc official blog, in its first 12 months after launch, it processed over $600 million in payment volume for fintech clients in Africa and Latin America, covering 150,000 wallets and 700,000 transactions. The real-time data currently displayed on its website has grown to approximately $950 million, 182,000 wallets, and 973,000 transactions. These are continuously updated figures from the project team and have not been audited by a third party.

Hurupay (soon to be rebranded as Kolan, @kolan_xyz)

Offers USD bank accounts with real routing numbers for non-US users and businesses. Upon receipt, funds are automatically converted to USDC. Users can withdraw funds as local currency, spend via card, or hold stablecoins to earn interest. It currently serves over 50,000 active users across more than 50 countries, including Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Indonesia, the Philippines, Argentina, and Brazil, processing over $100 million in 15 months since launch.

Myaza (@myazahq)

A Pan-African payment network supporting multi-currency wallets and instant transfers for 21 African currencies. Settlement is driven by underlying USDC and EURC cross-border transactions. It also offers USD virtual cards, bill payment, and savings account features. It has over 25,000 registered users, 23% month-over-month growth, and a cumulative transaction volume of approximately $15 million, with infrastructure partnerships established with Fincra, Yellow Card, and Bridge.

Arrel Technology (DAPL, @ArrelTechnology)

Boasting 8 years of experience in institution-grade digital asset infrastructure, its new product, USDC Omni-Checkout & Treasury Router, is built on Circle CCTP, enabling African merchants to accept USDC/EURC payments without any development work, much like using Stripe. Targeting the Global South market, it processes an annual payment volume of $180 million, representing 128% year-over-year growth.

Payrit (@payritHQ)

A USDC-powered cross-border mobile wallet. Users only need to operate in their local currency; USDC conversion happens in the background, enabling near-instant settlement. It has processed over 36,000 cross-border transactions exceeding $1.9 million for Nigerian users to and from the UK, Canada, and other African countries, supporting EVM, Stellar, and Solana multi-chain wallets.

ViFi Labs (@ViFi_Labs)

A decentralized foreign exchange protocol targeting emerging market currencies. It employs an AMM architecture specifically designed for correlated assets, enabling near-zero slippage swaps for currency pairs like the Nigerian Naira, Brazilian Real, and Colombian Peso. Currently deployed on the Arc testnet, it is progressing towards a mainnet launch, with Arc intended to serve as its primary liquidity and forex execution hub.

SFx Money (@usesfxmoneyapp)

A stablecoin digital bank. Initially serving the remittance needs of the Turkish diaspora and African students, it has evolved into a full-fledged digital bank supporting fee-free transfers between Turkey and over 16 African countries, as well as the US, UK, and EU. Its user base has grown from approximately 300 in December 2024 to over 8,800 in July 2026, making it one of the few projects in this grant cohort to receive a second grant from Circle.

Flezpay (@flezpay)

Targeting African retail scenarios, it uses AI-driven smart QR codes to dynamically adjust product prices in real-time, bridging fiat currency and USDC at the point of sale. It has been integrated into 1,613 retail stores, achieving a monthly recurring revenue exceeding $31,000.

2. Other Official Ecosystem Partners

The Arc official website's ecosystem page currently lists over 100 verified institutional and project partners, covering categories such as stablecoin issuance, infrastructure, trading, payments, and financial services.

These include heavyweight institutions: BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Deutsche Bank, Standard Chartered, BNP Paribas, BNY Mellon, Mastercard, and Coinbase. Also included are crypto-native institutions and infrastructure projects like Kraken, Bybit, Aave, Chainlink, LayerZero, Fireblocks, BitGo, Centrifuge, Morpho, Curve, and MetaMask.

3. Launchpads / DEXs

TowerExchange

Arc's native stablecoin DEX aggregator, leading in awareness and sustained discussion within this category. It was previously selected for the official Builder Spotlight showcase list. In May 2026, the official Arc account posted a detailed introduction explaining its features and invited a live demo. How to participate: Connect a testnet wallet directly on the official website to experience swapping and liquidity features.

Radar DEX (formerly ArcDEXScan)

A token price tracking and launch platform on the Arc mainnet. It was renamed in July 2026 with a new website launch at radardex.io, which the team claims now supports the Arc mainnet. Functionally, it tracks token prices, market cap, volume, and liquidity, and also features a built-in token launcher based on Uniswap v3 (with permanently locked liquidity). It aggregates data from multiple trading channels including Uniswap v2/v3/v4, DyorSwap, Noxa, and LiFi. How to participate: Visit the website directly, connect a wallet, or join their Telegram group for bot push notifications.

AstraPump

A Launchpad and DEX focused on one-click token creation and trading. It ranks highly on the Trending list of the third-party ecosystem directory ArcLens. Its follower base and tweet engagement are relatively prominent among similar projects, primarily attracting meme and testnet player communities.

Lunex

A Curve-style StableSwap AMM specializing in low-slippage swaps for stablecoin pairs like USDC/EURC. It is marked as "Established" on ArcLens. How to participate: Connect a wallet on the official website to experience the swap functionality.

4. AI / Infrastructure

hinkal_protocol

A privacy and confidential settlement protocol. It announced its testnet launch in March 2026. The official Arc account has frequently reposted or mentioned its testnet activities, calling it a "Day One Architect." How to participate: During the testnet phase, users can try its private transfer functionality.

5. NFTs

Orixa (ORIXIANS)

An NFT marketplace native to Arc. It plans to launch the ORIXIANS NFT collection after the mainnet goes live. Orixa has not yet clarified whether it will issue a token. Its follower base and discussion activity are relatively leading among similar projects. How to participate: Requires obtaining a testnet pass first and completing identity verification on the official Discord server, followed by whitelist registration.

Arc_Punks and ArcPunksNFT

There are currently two independent Punk-themed projects on Arc: Arc_Punks claims to be the earliest Punks collection on the Arc EVM, while ArcPunksNFT positions itself as a genesis collection. Their teams and launch plans differ, and they are frequently discussed and compared together in the community. Based on currently available information, both plan to open public minting directly after the mainnet launch without requiring advance whitelist entry. How to participate: Wait for the mainnet launch and mint directly when it goes public.

unemployeeonarc

A collection of 10,000 "Unemployed" themed NFTs. The account's style leans towards humorous and playful content, frequently using memes about "layoffs" and "unemployment applications." It is arguably the most distinct in tone among similar projects. How to participate: Whitelist rules have not been announced yet. It's advisable to follow the official account and website for minting time.

ArcCitizens

Positioned as a fully on-chain identity NFT for community governance. One whitelist announcement generated a dense wave of reposts and discussions in a short period, making it the most prominent real-world example of viral effect within the NFT category. There is verifiable evidence of real user participation (public whitelist rules, users following procedures to apply). How to participate: Quote the official whitelist announcement with the caption "Arc is coming", change your profile picture to one of the official PFPs, and leave your wallet address in the comments. The previous round opened 100 slots; subsequent rounds require following the official account's announcements.

6. Memes

CatBatHatFatRat

With 10,000 followers, this is a Meme project centered around the five words "Cat Bat Hat Fat Rat." It is inspired by or originates from a video previously shared by the official USDC account. The website offers interactive features such as a PFP generator, a community message wall, and a waitlist/leaderboard.

The above information is compiled from the ArcLens ecosystem page, official Circle/Arc channels, and public discussions on platform X. Specific rules are subject to the latest official announcements from the projects. Please assess risks independently before participating.

Security Reminder: Recently, third-party websites claiming to be "ARC Bridge" (e.g., onbridge.xyz) have appeared online. These pages advertise "Arc Mainnet live," tricking users into connecting their wallets and bridging at least 1000 USDC to the so-called "Arc Mainnet." Upon verification, the official Arc block explorer clearly still marks the network as Testnet. There are no official Mainnet explorers or announcements.

Arc ecosystem contributor Panchu also recently posted an educational thread on X: While the underlying chain for the Arc mainnet is indeed currently generating blocks (Chain ID 5042, block height exceeding 10.4 million, USDC contract deployed), this is purely Circle's internal pre-release testing infrastructure and is not yet open to the public.

Since USDC cross-chain bridging relies on the CCTP "burn-mint" two-step process, any third-party website claiming to bridge assets to the Arc mainnet can only execute the "burn" step on the source chain. The "mint" proof cannot be generated because the mainnet is not officially open, causing the assets to disappear permanently with no way to recover them. He also mentioned that people are already buying so-called "Mainnet USDC" at 30x to 100x premiums.

When the Arc mainnet truly goes live, the official announcement will be made simultaneously through @arc and official Circle channels. It will not be leaked in advance via direct messages or rumors. At present, the only meaningful way to participate remains the testnet. Please do not use any third-party "Mainnet Bridges" to transfer assets.