Catenaa, Tuesday, September 30, 2025- Stablecoin issuer Circle is evaluating whether to allow reversible transactions for its USDC token, a move that could encourage greater adoption by traditional financial institutions but challenges blockchain’s principle of immutability.
Circle President Heath Tarbert said the company is considering reversibility “in certain circumstances” for agreed-upon parties to address fraud or disputes.
Currently, while Circle can freeze or blacklist addresses, it cannot reverse completed USDC transactions. The potential change would likely be implemented as a layer atop Circle’s Arc blockchain, a Layer-1 network designed specifically for stablecoin applications, rather than being native to Arc itself.
Arc, announced in August, aims to provide sub-second finality, privacy features, and native USDC gas token support for transactions.
Tarbert emphasized that while blockchain offers advantages over traditional finance, certain aspects of conventional systems, like transaction reversibility, could enhance usability for institutions.
Developers are reportedly exploring modules that would enable refund or dispute protocols without compromising network security.
Circle’s USDC stablecoin, currently the seventh-largest crypto asset by market capitalization with over $74 billion, has become widely used across DeFi and enterprise applications.
The firm expects the Arc public testnet to launch this fall, signaling a push toward more flexible and institutionally friendly stablecoin infrastructure. Shares of Circle (CRCL) fell nearly 2% Thursday, trading above $129.
Circle mulls reversible USDC transactions atop Arc blockchain to boost traditional finance adoption while maintaining stablecoin security.
