Today in crypto, Circle’s new Arc blockchain testnet launched with participation from more than 100 institutions, including BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, Visa and Mastercard, a US lawmaker is introducing new legislation aiming to ban President Donald Trump, his family members and elected government officials from trading crypto and stocks, and Michael Selig confirmed his nomination to chair the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Circle debuts Arc testnet with participation by BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, Visa
Circle, the world’s second-largest stablecoin issuer, launched the public testnet for Arc, its open layer-1 blockchain network built to bring global financial infrastructure onchain.
The rollout, which Circle calls the “Economic Operating System for the internet,” includes participation from over 100 major companies spanning banking, capital markets and fintech — among them BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, Visa, Mastercard and State Street, according to a Tuesday announcement.
“With Arc’s public testnet, we’re seeing remarkable early momentum as leading companies, protocols, and projects begin to build and test,” Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said. “Combined, these companies reach billions of users, move, exchange, and custody hundreds of trillions in assets and payments,” he added.
Arc is designed to provide predictable US dollar-based fees, sub-second finality and optional privacy controls, directly integrating with Circle’s USDC (USDC) stablecoin and payments stack. It aims to support a broad range of financial applications, from lending and capital markets to global payments and foreign exchange (FX).
The testnet launch has drawn engagement from major institutions such as Apollo, BNY Mellon, Intercontinental Exchange and Deutsche Bank, as well as global payment firms Mastercard, FIS, Paysafe and Nuvei.
US lawmaker seeks to stop Trump, family from crypto, stock trading
A US lawmaker is seeking to ban US President Donald Trump, his family, and members of Congress from trading crypto or stocks.
US Representative Ro Khanna, a Democrat representative used an appearance on MSNBC to raise concerns around Trump’s apparent conflict of interest with crypto via his son’s crypto project World Liberty Financial (WLFI), alleging the recent pardoning of Binance co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao was “blatant corruption.”
Khanna did not go into specific details of his legislative proposal, but did not mince his words, concluding by calling for a ban on “any elected official from having cryptocurrency and accepting foreign money.”
Michael Selig confirms CFTC nomination as agency faces leadership void
US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) official Michael Selig announced that President Donald Trump had nominated him to chair the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), citing a focus on crypto policies. The move still requires Senate approval and comes as the agency operates with several open seats.
In Saturday X posts, Selig and White House crypto and AI czar David Sacks confirmed reports that Trump would nominate him to chair the CFTC, setting the groundwork for the departure of acting Chair Caroline Pham.
Selig, whose nomination did not appear in congressional records nor among official White House announcements at the time of publication, reiterated Trump’s goal of making the US a “crypto capital.”
The nomination came amid a US government shutdown entering its fifth week after Republican and Democratic lawmakers in Congress were unable to reach an agreement on a funding bill over concerns with healthcare cuts and subsidies.
Though the Senate is still able to pass legislation during a shutdown — including potentially a digital asset market structure bill – lawmakers’ priority will likely be a continuing resolution to fund the government.
Since the departure of CFTC Commissioner Kristin Johnson in September, the agency’s five-member leadership panel has been filled solely by Pham, who also said she intends to depart the regulator after her replacement is confirmed in the Senate. As of Monday, the Senate had not set a confirmation hearing for Selig.
