Arc facilitates $150M USDC borrowing against cirBTC

Arc: Arc is Circle's purpose-built Layer 1 blockchain for stablecoin-native finance, with native USDC settlement, fast deterministic finality, and support for collateralized lending. It recently made cirBTC available onchain, enabling users to deposit it as collateral in Morpho markets to borrow USDC directly. Circle: Circle issues the USDC stablecoin and cirBTC, a 1:1 BTC-backed wrapped token. The company operates Arc as its EVM-compatible Layer 1 blockchain optimized for stablecoin finance and has rolled out Digital Asset-Backed Borrowing, allowing eligible Mint customers to use cirBTC as collateral for USDC loans routed through third-party protocols. Morpho: Morpho operates Morpho Blue, the decentralized lending protocol powering USDC markets collateralized by cirBTC on Arc. It determines loan terms, interest rates, and liquidation thresholds independent of Circle, while facilitating supply from liquidity providers to borrowers using the new cirBTC asset. Protocol Role: Morpho provides the lending infrastructure on Arc where cirBTC serves as collateral, with the protocol handling all market parameters while Circle manages the wrapper and settlement. Institutional Product: Circle's Digital Asset-Backed Borrowing lets eligible Mint customers deposit BTC, mint cirBTC, and obtain USDC liquidity via integrated third-party markets without liquidating their Bitcoin holdings. Blockchain Integration: Arc launched support for cirBTC deposits shortly after the token became available, enabling immediate collateralized borrowing activity through established lending protocols.