Circle Launched Its Own Blockchain. What Happens to Ethereum?

Watch on YouTube ↗  |  September 16, 2026 at 18:30  |  20:18  |  CoinDesk
Speakers
Nikhil Chandhok — Chief Technology and Product Officer, Circle
Andrea Miele — CEO, Beezie

Summary

Circle Chief Technology and Product Officer Nikhil Chandhok joins Markets Outlook on the day Arc mainnet goes live to discuss why Arc uses USDC for gas, how opt-in privacy works for institutions, and why BlackRock and Visa are validators. He frames the GENIUS Act as the key regulatory catalyst for stablecoin adoption and says Circle will be the largest GENIUS-compliant stablecoin from day one. He also discusses tokenization, DeFi integrations on Arc, AI agents, and remains optimistic on Bitcoin and Ethereum. The episode includes a Brand New Rails segment with Beezie's Andrea Miele on tokenized luxury goods on Solana.

  • Circle launched Arc mainnet, an institutional-grade blockchain using USDC for gas and opt-in privacy.
  • GENIUS Act rules take effect in January and are expected to make stablecoins federally supervised and easier for institutions to hold.
  • Circle says it will be the largest GENIUS-compliant stablecoin issuer and has BlackRock and Visa as Arc validators.
  • Aave, Morpho, and Uniswap are live on Arc as DeFi partners; Circle says DeFi is class-one traffic.
  • Nikhil Chandhok sees tokenization accelerating, unlocking 24/7 collateral and new markets.
  • On Bitcoin and Ethereum, he remains optimistic, calling Ethereum the granddaddy of DeFi.
  • Beezie's Andrea Miele discusses tokenized luxury goods, provenance, liquidity, and blind-drop gamification.
Ideas
Nikhil Chandhok Chief Technology and Product Officer, Circle 1:54
GENIUS unlocks institutional stablecoin adoption.
The GENIUS Act rules taking effect in January will make stablecoins federally supervised and treated as real money inside the system, so institutions and enterprises that were previously hesitant can hold stablecoins and use them for daily transactions much like bank money. Chandhok sees secular institutional interest in stablecoins as a gateway to understanding the broader crypto ecosystem, with institutions likely settling trades in stablecoins within a few years.
STABLECOINS HIGH
Nikhil Chandhok Chief Technology and Product Officer, Circle 2:29
USDC becomes compliant cash and Arc gas.
Circle will be the largest distributed stablecoin that is GENIUS-compliant on day one, and Arc uses USDC as its gas token rather than a volatile native token. Because USDC will be accounted for as cash once GENIUS is live, paying gas in USDC simplifies enterprise and agent onboarding, budgeting, and accounting versus holding a separate volatile gas token.
USDC HIGH
Nikhil Chandhok Chief Technology and Product Officer, Circle 14:07
Tokenization unlocks 24/7 global capital efficiency.
Tokenization is accelerating, and Arc is an accelerant because it removes barriers that give institutions pause when tokenizing real-world assets, stocks, and bonds. Tokenized assets open new non-US markets and make the same asset usable as collateral 24/7/365 globally, unlocking more capital efficiency.
Tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) HIGH
Nikhil Chandhok Chief Technology and Product Officer, Circle 15:32
Aave, Morpho, Uniswap live on Arc.
Aave, Morpho, and Uniswap are already live on Arc, and Chandhok calls Circle's DeFi partners class-one partners that it wants on the network. Circle sees DeFi as representing open internet innovation and wants Arc to bridge it with what institutions and regulators need, potentially giving these protocols exposure to Arc's institutional traffic and composability.
AAVE MORPHO UNI MED
Nikhil Chandhok Chief Technology and Product Officer, Circle 17:52
Circle is top institutional stablecoin partner.
Circle has a decade of experience, has settled over $100 trillion in USDC transactions, will be the largest regulated/GENIUS-compliant stablecoin issuer, and is launching Arc, an institutional-grade blockchain with validators and investors including BlackRock and Visa plus a global payments network. Chandhok argues this makes Circle one of the best partners for institutions moving existing and new assets onchain.
CRCL HIGH
Nikhil Chandhok Chief Technology and Product Officer, Circle 18:59
Bitcoin has secular trillion-dollar asset status.
Chandhok says he cannot predict short-term prices, but he sees secular interest in Bitcoin, calls it a true trillion-dollar asset, remains optimistic, and says Bitcoin still has an important place even as Circle launches its own blockchain.
BTC HIGH
Nikhil Chandhok Chief Technology and Product Officer, Circle 19:12
Ethereum DeFi dominance prevents bearish stance.
Ethereum is the granddaddy of DeFi, so Chandhok finds it hard to be bearish and remains optimistic. He notes Circle will keep issuing USDC on Ethereum and 30-plus other blockchains, so launching Arc does not reduce Ethereum's important role.
ETH HIGH
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This CoinDesk video, published September 16, 2026, features Nikhil Chandhok discussing STABLECOINS, USDC, Tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), AAVE, MORPHO, UNI, CRCL, BTC, ETH. 7 trade ideas extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.

Speakers: Nikhil Chandhok  · Tickers: STABLECOINS, USDC, Tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), AAVE, MORPHO, UNI, CRCL, BTC, ETH