The Arc mainnet launch is one of the biggest stablecoin stories of 2026, because Circle, the company behind USDC, now runs its own blockchain. Most networks ask users to pay fees in a volatile coin like ETH, which makes costs hard to predict. Arc takes a different path and uses USDC itself as the gas asset. Circle opened the public network in September 2026 with large financial names as validators. In this guide, we explain how the launch happened, how USDC gas fees work, what makes Arc different, and which risks you should understand before moving funds. What Is the…