Today in crypto, USDC issuer Circle has introduced its layer-1 blockchain, Arc, and said its Q2 revenue and reserve income increased 53% year-over-year, an Ethereum developer who was detained in Turkey for alleged links to a crypto mixer has confirmed he has been released but will still need to defend his innocence, and Do Kwon may enter a change of plea at a Tuesday hearing.
USDC issuer Circle to launch new layer-1 Arc blockchain this year
Circle, a publicly traded US company and the issuer of USDC stablecoin, said it will launch a layer-1 (L1) blockchain compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) later this year.
The company released its second-quarter results on Tuesday and announced the introduction of Arc, a new network designed to offer an “enterprise-grade foundation” for stablecoin payments, foreign exchange and capital markets applications.
Expected to launch in public testnet, Circle’s Arc will feature USDC (USDC) as its native gas token, enabling users to pay transaction fees with the stablecoin.
Alongside the launch of Arc, Circle disclosed a 53% year-over-year increase in total revenue and reserve income in Q2, reaching $658 million.
According to Circle, its upcoming Arc blockchain is “purpose-built for stablecoin finance,” marking a major milestone in the company’s mission to deliver a “full-stack platform for the internet financial system.”
In addition to featuring USDC as native gas, Arc will provide an integrated stablecoin foreign exchange engine, sub-second settlement finality and opt-in privacy controls, the announcement said, adding:
“Arc will be fully integrated across Circle’s platform and services, which will also remain fully available and interoperable with the dozens of other partner blockchains that Circle supports.”
At the time of writing, USDC had a $65.6 billion market capitalization, with the stablecoin running on a total of 24 networks.
Ethereum core dev “safe and free” after being detained in Turkey
Ethereum core developer Federico Carrone, known as “Fede’s Intern” on X, confirmed he has been released after being detained in Turkey for 24 hours over alleged links to an Ethereum privacy protocol.
“I’m finally out, safe and free. There was a small moment were things looked very bad but thanks to help from many I got released,” Carrone said in an X post on Monday.
According to Carrone, Turkey’s Minister of Internal Affairs accused him of “helping others misuse Ethereum” in alleged connection to a privacy protocol. Carrone said he believes it is linked to a January 2022 research paper that assessed user-privacy on Ethereum and Tornado Cash.
“We never helped anyone engage in illegal activity, it was purely research on mixers and their properties,” Carrone said.
The case is still ongoing, according to Carrone, adding that his Turkish attorney is still working on his defense.
“We still don’t have the full picture of what happened or why it happened, but we will bring in the best team we can and resolve this,” Carrone said. “If needed, [once] things are sorted out, I will come back to clear my name and defend ourselves.”
Do Kwon to change plea in criminal case at Tuesday conference
A federal judge overseeing the case against Do Kwon has scheduled a Tuesday conference at which the Terraform Labs co-founder “may enter a change of plea.”
In a Monday filing in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), Judge Paul Engelmayer ordered the parties to appear in court on Tuesday, which could suggest that Kwon was preparing to change his plea for some or all of his charges.
The Terraform co-founder initially pleaded not guilty to nine felony counts in January after a monthslong extradition court battle in Montenegro ended with his removal to the United States.
“[T]he defendant should be prepared to give a narrative allocution that incorporates all elements of the offense(s) to which the defendant is pleading guilty,” said Engelmayer. “In the interest of clarity and efficiency, the Court encourages counsel to assist the defendant in writing an allocution that can be read in open court during the plea proceeding.”
Kwon was indicted in March 2023 for charges including securities fraud, market manipulation, money laundering and wire fraud related to his role at Terraform. He was allegedly responsible for contributing to the crash of the Terra ecosystem, which wiped out $40 billion in investor assets.