Canonical: https://builtonarc.app/guides/arc-ecosystem-by-the-numbers # Arc's ecosystem, by the numbers Updated 2026-09-02. A dated tracker of Built on Arc's directory size, live-status count, and category breakdown, alongside stablecoin market context, as of 2 September 2026. > As of 2 September 2026, Built on Arc's directory carries roughly 100 seeded entries across ten categories, and exactly zero of them carry "Live on Arc" status — because Arc mainnet itself doesn't launch until 16 September 2026. This page is a dated tracker, not a static snapshot: every number here is expected to move, most sharply in the two weeks around mainnet launch. ## The directory, today Built on Arc's initial seed carries roughly 100 entries, split close to evenly between Class A web3-native projects (launchpads, DEXs, NFT and meme infrastructure) and Class B web2/fintech entities (banks, PSPs, remittance networks, and institutional infrastructure providers). Of those roughly 100 entries: - **Live on Arc: 0.** This is not a data gap — it's an accurate reflection of the network's own status. No project can be live on Arc mainnet before Arc mainnet exists. - **Testnet:** a minority of entries, concentrated among Class A projects that have shipped a working testnet deployment (Lunex, Hinkal, and PhotonPay and BTG Pactual on the Class B side, among others) and the Circle Developer Grants recipient ViFi Labs specifically. - **Announced:** the majority of entries. This includes essentially the entire founding validator cohort, most named integration partners from Circle's 5 August 2026 release, and most Class A launchpad and DEX projects, which have public marketing presence but no independently verifiable shipped product yet. - **Inactive: 0.** No entry has yet moved to Inactive — the status only applies once a project has been Live or Testnet and then gone quiet for 90 days or withdrawn Arc support, and mainnet doesn't exist yet. ## Category breakdown Built on Arc's ten categories are Payments & Payouts, Banks & Enterprises, Stablecoins & Tokenized Assets, Exchanges & Trading, DeFi & Credit, Wallets & Custody, Bridges & Onramps, Developer Infrastructure, Compliance & Analytics, and Launchpads, NFT & Meme. Payments & Payouts no longer includes banks (moved to Banks & Enterprises) or stablecoin issuers (moved to Stablecoins & Tokenized Assets), so its "largest category" status under v1 is no longer guaranteed without a recount — category sizes are `[count]` placeholders pending that recount rather than restated as fact. Launchpads, NFT & Meme continues to carry the least verifiable, most marketing-forward entries in the directory as a group — consistent with it being the category entirely absent from Circle's own institutional taxonomy (see [How projects get listed by Circle](/guides/how-projects-get-listed-by-circle)). ## How these numbers will move Two dates matter most. **16 September 2026**, mainnet launch, is when the "Live on Arc" count moves off zero for the first time — expect it to move slowly rather than all at once, as we individually confirm each project's mainnet deployment rather than upgrading status on the strength of a press release. **The weeks following mainnet** are when the "Announced" bucket should shrink fastest, as named partners either ship confirmable integrations or, in some cases, quietly don't — and where entries that go quiet start moving to Inactive instead. Built on Arc will not backfill announced partnerships into "Live" status without independent confirmation, and expects some Announced entries to remain in that status indefinitely. ## Stablecoin market context For scale, dated stablecoin market figures as of 13 August 2026: total stablecoin supply stood at $308 billion, up 14% year over year but 4.5% below the May 2026 peak. Headline gross stablecoin transaction volume runs around $46 trillion annualized, but real-economy payments volume — actual commerce and settlement rather than trading and internal transfers — is estimated at $350–550 billion per year, with B2B stablecoin volume specifically around $226 billion per year. Separately, 13% of organizations report having used stablecoins, while 87% describe stablecoins as a competitive advantage. These figures describe the stablecoin market broadly, not Arc specifically — Arc is a new entrant into an already-large and growing space, not the space itself. Sources: - [Circle Announces Founding Validator Cohort and Major Integrations for Arc](https://www.circle.com/pressroom/circle-announces-founding-validator-cohort-and-major-integrations-for-arc-ahead-of-september-16-mainnet-launch) - [Arc ecosystem page](https://www.arc.io/ecosystem) ## Questions **How many projects are in the Built on Arc directory?** Roughly 100 as of 2 September 2026, across ten categories, split close to evenly between web3-native and web2/fintech entities. **How many projects are live on Arc mainnet?** Zero, because Arc mainnet has not launched. The launch date is 16 September 2026. **Which category has the most entries?** [count] — Payments & Payouts is a leading candidate, driven by the Developer Grants cohort and named PSPs, but banks (now Banks & Enterprises) and issuers (now Stablecoins & Tokenized Assets) no longer count toward it, so this needs a fresh tally rather than a restated claim. **Will this page update after mainnet launches?** Yes — this is a dated tracker built to be revised as project statuses change, most significantly around 16 September 2026. **What's the total stablecoin market size, for context?** $308 billion as of 13 August 2026, per the fact pack this directory relies on — 14% up year over year but 4.5% below the May 2026 peak. This is market-wide, not Arc-specific. **Does the directory count include the eleven founding validators?** Yes, each validator appears as its own entry, currently carrying "Announced" status pending mainnet's validator activation.