Circle’s Kris Gower makes the case for Arc and USDC in securities lending

Securities lending rarely makes headlines. It mostly comes up when something in the back office breaks.

Circle executive Kris Gower wants to change that. He argues that the company’s Arc blockchain and its USDC stablecoin could reduce settlement failures and costs in securities lending, a corner of finance that still runs on legacy rails and banking-hour cutoffs.

Gower made the case on the BitGo podcast, which aired around November 4-5, 2026. His pitch was simple: settle trades in under a second, around the clock, and fewer of them will fail.

What Gower is pitching

In securities lending, one institution lends stocks or bonds to another. The borrower posts collateral, often cash or other securities, to cover the loan.

Collateral and securities have to change hands in a coordinated way. When one leg arrives late or not at all, the trade fails. Capital also tends to sit idle while everyone waits for the system to catch up.

Gower’s conversation centered on how Arc and USDC target those frictions. Circle positions Arc as a venue where institutions can post tokenized collateral against USDC. According to Circle, settlement on Arc happens in under a second.

Arc also runs 24/7. Circle’s promotional materials frame this as removing the traditional settlement cutoffs that govern when institutions can move money and collateral.

Circle’s materials pitch Arc and USDC for tokenized repurchase agreements, or repo, and for collateral mobility more broadly. Repo is a close cousin of securities lending. One party sells securities and agrees to buy them back later, which works like a short-term secured loan.

Circle says it is promoting instant repo settlement for a range of financial institutions. The company frames this as a way to lean less on conventional settlement systems like Fedwire, the Federal Reserve’s payment network.

Arc’s short track record

Arc is a young network. Its public mainnet launched on September 16, 2026, with USDC integrated from the start.

Circle says the chain had over 100 institutional partners on day one. The roster includes a collaboration with the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) aimed at advancing the tokenization of securities.

The network also has a native token, ARC, minted by Circle. ARC has a total supply of 10 billion. Circle intends to use it for future proof-of-stake security and governance on the Arc network.

Meanwhile, USDC itself keeps growing. Circulation reached approximately $74 billion as of late October 2026, and on-chain activity has picked up on the newly launched Arc platform.

Why the settlement angle matters

Securities lending and repo are where large institutions move collateral to fund positions and manage liquidity. Settlement failures carry real costs. They tie up capital, create operational headaches, and force firms to keep buffers against things going wrong.

Getting rid of cutoffs is the other piece. Traditional systems close, and when they do, collateral that could be working instead sits still until the next window opens. A network that runs 24/7 lets institutions move collateral when they need it, not when the clock allows.

What this means for Circle and its rivals

For Circle, Arc marks a strategic step beyond issuing a stablecoin. It is trying to own the rails as well as the asset that moves across them.

Arc launched only in September 2026, so its track record under stress is short. Institutional partnerships at launch are a promising signal, but live settlement volume is the real test.

The ARC token is another open question. With 10 billion tokens and a planned role in network security and governance, how Circle distributes and decentralizes that supply will shape how independent Arc actually becomes from its creator.

Three things are worth tracking. First, whether the DTCC collaboration produces live tokenized securities on Arc. Second, whether repo and securities lending activity on the chain moves beyond pilots. Third, how USDC circulation develops from its approximately $74 billion level as Arc matures.