300+ Projects Poised for Action: A Comprehensive Overview of Circle’s Native Public Chain Arc Ecosystem

Original Author: Sanqing, Foresight News

Arc, the native public chain for Circle's stablecoin, is currently in the public testnet phase. The official target for the mainnet Beta launch is summer 2026. During this period before the mainnet opens, a batch of testnet projects have already gained significant traction on platform X, particularly concentrated in categories with lower participation barriers like NFTs, Launchpads, and Memes. A third-party project directory, ArcLens, has listed 308 projects claiming to be building on Arc.

The following includes payment infrastructure teams explicitly acknowledged by Circle with verifiable business data, institutional-grade partners listed on Arc's official ecosystem page, and community projects currently generating the most discussion. Data is current as of July 21, 2026, subject to rapid updates, and is for reference only.

1. Payment Infrastructure Teams Funded by Circle

The following 8 teams are part of Circle's Developer Grant program's first batch for 2026, focusing on African and Global South markets.

Formally introduced by Arc's official blog on July 13, 2026, these are among the few projects in the ecosystem with concrete business data, though they are primarily enterprise-focused infrastructure services with limited direct participation opportunities for individual users. They are listed in the order presented in the official blog.

Blockradar (@BlockradarHQ)

A Wallet-as-a-Service infrastructure providing an integrated API for fintech companies in emerging markets, including non-custodial wallet creation, gasless transactions, real-time AML screening, fund aggregation, and cross-chain liquidity. According to Arc's official blog, in its first 12 months, Blockradar processed over $600 million in payment volume for fintech clients in Africa and Latin America, covering 150,000 wallets and 700,000 transactions. Its website currently displays updated real-time data of approximately $950 million, 182,000 wallets, and 973,000 transactions. These are continuously updated figures from the project team and have not been independently audited.

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

Provides USD accounts with real routing numbers for non-US users and businesses. Funds received are automatically converted to USDC, which users can withdraw as local currency, spend via card, or hold to earn yield on stablecoins. 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, powered by USDC and EURC for cross-border settlements. It also offers USD virtual cards, bill payment, and savings account features. It has over 25,000 registered users, with 23% month-over-month growth and cumulative transaction volume of approximately $15 million. Myaza has established infrastructure partnerships with Fincra, Yellow Card, and Bridge.

Arrel Technology (DAPL, @ArrelTechnology)

Boasting 8 years of experience in institutional-grade digital asset infrastructure, its new product, USDC Omni-Checkout & Treasury Router, is built on Circle CCTP. It enables African merchants to accept USDC/EURC payments without development, similar to using Stripe. Targeting the Global South market, it handles an annual payment volume of $180 million, growing 128% year-over-year.

Payrit (@payritHQ)

A USDC-powered cross-border mobile wallet. Users only interact with local currencies while USDC conversion happens in the backend, enabling near-instant settlements. It has processed over 36,000 cross-border transactions exceeding $1.9 million for Nigerian users to the UK, Canada, and Africa, supporting EVM, Stellar, and Solana multi-chain wallets.

ViFi Labs (@ViFi_Labs)

A decentralized forex protocol for emerging market currencies, utilizing an AMM architecture designed for correlated assets. It provides near-zero slippage for currency pairs like the Nigerian Naira, Brazilian Real, and Colombian Peso. Currently deployed on the Arc testnet, it is progressing towards mainnet launch, with Arc serving as its primary liquidity and forex execution hub.

SFx Money (@usesfxmoneyapp)

A stablecoin digital bank initially serving remittance needs for the Turkish diaspora and African students. It has evolved into a full-fledged digital bank, supporting free transfers between Turkey and over 16 African countries, the US, UK, and EU. Its user base grew from approximately 300 in December 2024 to over 8,800 in July 2026, making it a rare recipient of a second grant from Circle in this batch.

Flezpay (@flezpay)

Targeting African retail, it uses AI-driven smart QR codes to dynamically adjust product prices in real-time, bridging fiat and USDC payment flows at the point of sale. It has onboarded 1,613 retail stores, with monthly recurring revenue exceeding $31,000.

2. Other Official Ecosystem Partners

Arc's official website 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 major institutions like BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Deutsche Bank, Standard Chartered, BNP Paribas, BNY Mellon, Mastercard, and Coinbase. Also listed are crypto-native institutions and infrastructure projects such as Kraken, Bybit, Aave, Chainlink, LayerZero, Fireblocks, BitGo, Centrifuge, Morpho, Curve, and MetaMask.

3. Launchpad / DEX Category

TowerExchange

A native stablecoin DEX aggregator on Arc, maintaining a leading edge in awareness and ongoing discussion within this category. It was previously selected for the official Builder Spotlight list. In May 2026, the official Arc account posted a special introduction, detailing its features and inviting a live demo. Participation: Connect a testnet wallet directly on the website to experience swap and liquidity functions.

Radar DEX (formerly ArcDEXScan)

A token market tracking and launch platform on the Arc mainnet, rebranding and launching its new site, radardex.io, in July 2026, claiming support for the Arc mainnet. Functionally, it tracks token price, market cap, volume, and liquidity, and also features a token launcher based on Uniswap v3 (with permanently locked liquidity). It aggregates data from multiple trading venues including Uniswap v2/v3/v4, DyorSwap, Noxa, and LiFi. Participation: Access the website, connect a wallet, or join their Telegram group for bot signals.

AstraPump

A Launchpad and DEX focused on one-click token creation and trading, ranking high on the trending list of the third-party ecosystem directory, ArcLens. Its follower base and tweet engagement are relatively strong among similar projects, 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. Participation: Connect a wallet directly on the website to experience swap functionality.

4. AI / Infrastructure Category

hinkal_protocol

A privacy and confidential settlement protocol. In March 2026, it announced its testnet launch. The official Arc account has repeatedly shared or mentioned its testnet developments, referring to it as a "Day One Architect." Participation: During the testnet phase, users can try its private transfer feature.

5. NFT Category

Orixa (ORIXIANS)

A native NFT marketplace on Arc, which will debut the ORIXIANS NFT collection after the mainnet launch. Orixa has not yet confirmed whether it will issue a token. Among similar projects, its follower base and community engagement are relatively leading. Participation: Requires holding a testnet pass, completing identity verification on the official Discord, and then entering the whitelist registration.

Arc_Punks and ArcPunksNFT

Two distinct Punks-themed projects currently exist on Arc: Arc_Punks claims to be the earliest Punks series on Arc EVM, while ArcPunksNFT positions itself as a genesis collection. They have different teams and launch plans, but are often discussed and compared together in the community. Based on current information, both plan to open for public minting directly after the mainnet launches, without requiring advance whitelisting. Participation: Wait for the mainnet launch and mint directly then.

unemployeeonarc

A series of 10,000 "Unemployed" themed NFTs. The account's style is humorous and playful, often using memes like "layoffs" and "unemployment benefits" for updates, making it the most distinct in tone among similar projects. Participation: Whitelist rules haven't been announced yet. Monitor their official account and website for minting times.

ArcCitizens

Positioned as a community-governed, fully on-chain identity NFT. A single whitelist announcement triggered a rapid wave of shares and discussion, making it a standout case in terms of viral effect among NFT projects, with verifiable evidence of real user participation (public whitelist rules, users following processes). Participation: Quote the official whitelist announcement with the text "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 spots; subsequent rounds require following official announcements.

6. Meme Category

CatBatHatFatRat

This Meme project, centered around the five words "Cat Bat Hat Fat Rat," has 10k followers. Its inspiration might stem from a video previously shared by the official USDC account. The website features a PFP generator, a community message board, and interactive features like a waitlist/leaderboard.

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

Security Reminder: Recently, third-party websites claiming to be "ARC Bridge" (e.g., onbridge.xyz) have appeared. These pages claim "Arc Mainnet live," tricking users into connecting wallets and transferring at least 1000 USDC across chains to the "Arc mainnet." Verification confirms that Arc's official block explorer is still clearly marked as "Testnet." There are no official Mainnet browsers or announcements.

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

Because USDC cross-chain transfers rely on CCTP's "burn-and-mint" two-step process, any third-party website claiming to bridge assets to the Arc mainnet can only complete the burn on the source chain. The mint proof cannot be generated because the mainnet isn't officially open, causing the assets to disappear irretrievably. He also mentioned that some individuals are already buying so-called "Mainnet USDC" at 30 to 100 times the premium.

When the Arc mainnet truly launches, the official announcement will be made simultaneously through @arc and Circle's official channels. It will not be leaked early via DMs or rumors. Currently, the only meaningful way to participate remains the testnet. Please do not use any third-party "Mainnet Bridges" to transfer assets.