Circle expands CCTP to EURC and cirBTC on Arc

Circle expands CCTP beyond $USDC on Arc

CCTP now handles native crosschain transfers for $USDC, $EURC and cirBTC, extending a system that was originally built around $USDC burn-and-mint transfers.

Circle’s current CCTP product page describes the protocol as infrastructure that lets supported assets move 1:1 between chains. For Circle-issued assets, CCTP burns tokens on the source network and mints native tokens on the destination, avoiding liquidity pools used by some traditional bridge designs.

$EURC entered the system earlier this month. Circle said on Sept. 2 that CCTP had expanded from $USDC to native $EURC transfers, initially between Ethereum and Base. The Arc launch has since extended $EURC coverage to Arc, Avalanche, Base, Ethereum and World Chain.

cirBTC now follows a similar route. Interop on Arc lists CCTP support between Arc and Ethereum for Circle Wrapped Bitcoin, creating a native crosschain path for the $BTC-backed token across the two networks.

Circle separately brought cirBTC to Arc on Sept. 21. The company says each token is backed 1:1 by native $BTC held for cirBTC holders, with reserve information available for onchain verification. The wrapped asset is issued by Circle International Bermuda Limited, which holds a Class F Digital Asset Business license from the Bermuda Monetary Authority.

Circle launched Bitcoin-backed $USDC borrowing through cirBTC on Arc and Ethereum, allowing eligible Circle Mint institutions to post cirBTC to third-party lending markets and receive $USDC. Morpho was the first supported lending protocol when the service went live.

$EURC and cirBTC get different routes at launch

The three assets do not share identical network coverage. $USDC remains CCTP’s most established asset and can use all compatible routes offered through the current Arc interoperability stack. $EURC supports Arc, Avalanche, Base, Ethereum and World Chain, while cirBTC currently supports Arc and Ethereum.

Circle says CCTP Fast Transfer can complete transfers in “sub-10-second” times on supported Arc routes. The company cautions in its terms that transfer times and fee estimates are not guaranteed because results depend on the selected chain, route and network conditions.

Forwarding Service handles another part of the flow. It can relay the destination-chain transaction after CCTP completes the asset movement, removing the need for users to separately hold the destination network’s gas token for supported transactions.

Circle updated CCTP earlier in September with prepaid Fast Transfer fees. CCTP now lets developers quote and collect certain crosschain fees on the source network, allowing an application to show the recipient amount before the transfer executes.

Arc routes receive preferential CCTP pricing, according to the Sept. 23 announcement, although rates depend on the asset and route. Circle has not published one universal Arc transfer fee for $USDC, $EURC and cirBTC.

Gateway still supports $USDC before multi-asset expansion

The product creates a unified balance from supported funds held across different networks, allowing applications to treat eligible crosschain liquidity as one available balance. On Arc, Gateway currently supports $USDC balances on Arc and Ethereum.

$EURC and cirBTC Gateway support is listed as “coming soon.” Circle has not disclosed a launch date for either asset, so CCTP support should not be confused with live Gateway balance support.

Circle’s current legal disclosures likewise describe Gateway as $USDC-only. The company says Gateway is non-custodial software infrastructure and does not itself hold, control or transfer customers’ assets. It has not been reviewed or approved by the New York State Department of Financial Services or another regulator, according to the product disclosures.

The company has been building toward multi-asset interoperability for several months. In an April product roadmap, Circle said CCTP had already processed more than $140 billion in cumulative $USDC transfers across more than 20 chains and that future versions would extend the same model to assets including $EURC and cirBTC.

The Sept. 23 release turns part of that roadmap into production infrastructure, while Gateway’s asset expansion remains unfinished.

Arc lets third-party assets use separate crosschain models

Circle’s interop stack is not limited to tokens issued by Circle. Interop on Arc supports third-party assets through wrapping and a Crosschain Token Standard, or CTS. Developers and issuers can use CTS when they require controls such as allowlists, transfer rate limits, pausing, upgrades and governance rules.

The company says it does not retain override authority over CTS or custom third-party token contracts. Issuers remain responsible for their token structures, operating rules and regulatory obligations.

For new assets, CTS provides a standardized contract structure that can be deployed across chains. Circle describes the system as an alternative to maintaining different token contracts and bridge integrations for each network.

CCTP’s updated architecture supports both burn-and-mint and lock-and-mint models. Native supported assets can move through burn-and-mint, while third-party assets can use wrapping infrastructure where appropriate.

Bridge Kit packages these flows into an SDK for application developers. Arc Studio provides a separate development environment where teams can build applications using the same interop stack without manually connecting every service.

Circle launched Arc Studio as an AI-assisted tool for building applications on Arc, with examples ranging from cross-border payments to software billing and machine-to-machine transactions.

Arc interoperability builds on September mainnet launch

Arc went live publicly on Sept. 16 with $USDC used for transaction fees, deterministic sub-second finality and a permissioned founding validator set.

Circle said more than 100 institutional and ecosystem builders and more than 100 applications were participating at launch. Founding validators include BlackRock, DTCC, Galaxy, ICE, Mastercard, MoneyGram, SBI Group, Standard Chartered, Sumitomo Corporation, Visa and Worldpay.

Arc mainnet launched with $USDC gas and institutional validators including BlackRock and Visa. Circle said the network began with interoperability across more than 20 blockchain ecosystems through CCTP and Gateway.

Arc’s asset layer has expanded quickly since launch. cirBTC became available on Sept. 21, followed by StableFX on Sept. 22 and the integrated Interop product on Sept. 23. StableFX uses Arc for 24/7 stablecoin-based foreign-exchange settlement with request-for-quote pricing and atomic payment-versus-payment settlement.

Circle says cirBTC can already serve as collateral in Arc lending markets, including supported Aave and Morpho applications. Eligible Circle Mint customers can deposit native $BTC, mint cirBTC, provide it to approved third-party lending markets and receive borrowed $USDC through Circle’s Digital Asset-Backed Borrowing workflow.

The mainnet roadmap extends beyond interoperability. Circle minted a 10 billion $ARC genesis supply before the network launch and is exploring a transition from its current Proof-of-Authority structure toward Proof of Stake in 2027. The company says the genesis mint does not constitute a commitment to publicly launch the $ARC token.

Gateway support for $EURC and cirBTC remains among the next published interoperability steps. Circle has not provided a launch date, while its Sept. 23 Arc documentation continues to list both assets as “coming soon” for unified balances.