Circle Launches Arc, a New Blockchain for USDC Fees

The Ripple stablecoin treasury has minted 30 million Ripple USD, or RLUSD, adding to a recent series of larger issuance transactions for the USD-pegged token. The 30 million RLUSD mint is the latest in that run of bigger issuances. No further details on the transaction were disclosed.

Institutional stablecoin settlement moved onto four live production rails within a single month, with stablecoin-linked card spending reaching $1.2 billion in September 2026, roughly triple the year-earlier figure, according to PaymentScan data cited by CoinDesk. SoFi and Mastercard went live on September 22 with SoFiUSD, the first stablecoin issued by a U.S. nationally chartered bank deployed for live card-settlement production, with $25 billion in annualized card volume migrating to blockchain-based settlement on Mastercard's global payments network. Visa is already operating at a $20 billion annualized run rate for stablecoin settlement as of September 8, a 15x increase from $1.3 billion a year earlier and up from $7 billion in April, while Stripe announced October 1 that it is expanding its stablecoin card programs to more than 100 countries by year-end, up from 18. The Solana DvP standard, launched October 5-6 with JPMorgan advisory input, cuts settlement finality from T+2 days to roughly 400 milliseconds and cost from $50-500 to less than one cent, though it launched with no production settlement volumes yet. Separately, the DTCC's tokenization service, supported by a working group of over 50 firms including BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and State Street, is planned for October launch, and OKX closed a funding extension at a $25 billion pre-money valuation with backing from Circle, Ripple, Standard Chartered's SC Ventures, and Qube Research.

First Digital Group, the issuer behind the FDUSD stablecoin, has agreed to merge with CSLM Digital Asset Acquisition Corp III, known by the ticker KOYN, in a deal that values First Digital at $250M on a pre-money basis. The transaction would take First Digital public on Nasdaq and is expected to close in the first half of 2027, subject to regulatory approvals. FDUSD has recorded more than $4.7T in cumulative trading volume as of June 30, 2026, while First Digital generated about $87M in revenue in fiscal 2025. The company said the listing would give it access to public capital to expand Finance District, its on-chain ecosystem, while adding greater transparency for investors and partners.

Rain, a stablecoin payments platform, announced on October 5 that it has applied to the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish a national trust bank, Rain National Trust Bank. If approved, it will provide custody of digital assets and US dollars, management of stablecoin reserve assets, and issuance and redemption of dollar-denominated stablecoins under OCC supervision. The new bank is to be set up as a separate entity under Rain and will not take deposits, offer individual accounts, or make corporate loans, focusing instead on stablecoin and digital asset-related business. In the United States, following the GENIUS Act, a stablecoin regulation law enacted in 2025, a federal-level supervisory framework for issuers is being developed, and the OCC is also working on rules covering issuance, reserve assets, and reporting obligations in 2026. Rain's application will now undergo OCC review, and the company plans to begin operations after obtaining the necessary approvals.