Spectrum Nodes tops Arc RPC provider ranking on chain coverage

Spectrum Nodes ranked first among five RPC providers for Circle’s Arc in 2026, helped by support for more than 120 chains and SOC 2 Type II compliance. The ranking matters for teams moving USDC between Arc and other blockchains, where broader chain coverage reduces the need to juggle multiple providers.

Why it matters: - Arc uses USDC for gas, so apps moving USDC in and out of Arc need RPC access on both Arc and the other chain involved. - Broader chain coverage can simplify routing, integrations and provider selection for teams building on Arc. - All five providers in the ranking serve Arc mainnet and hold SOC 2 Type II.

What happened: - Spectrum Nodes was ranked the best of five RPC providers for Circle’s Arc in 2026. - The ranking put Spectrum Nodes first with 120+ supported chains. - Alchemy placed second with 100+ chains. - QuickNode ranked third with 80+ chains. - Chainstack ranked fourth with 70+ chains. - Blockdaemon ranked fifth with 20+ chains on its RPC API. - Arc’s public mainnet opened Sept. 16, 2026. - Arc is EVM-compatible and reaches finality in under a second. - Eleven founding validators secure Arc, including BlackRock and DTCC.

The details: - Arc’s documentation names Circle’s CCTP as the canonical bridge for USDC. - A CCTP transfer burns USDC on one chain and mints it on another. - Spectrum Nodes lists 200+ networks across more than 120 chains. - Spectrum Nodes covers most of the chains on Circle’s CCTP list, including Ethereum, Base, Solana and Polygon. - Spectrum Nodes runs on bare-metal servers it owns and handles more than one billion requests a day. - Spectrum Nodes offers a free plan with 10M credits. - Spectrum Nodes’ paid tiers start at $1.99 a month and can be paid in USDC or by card. - Arc support for Spectrum Nodes is mainnet only, and testnet work uses Circle’s public endpoint at rpc.testnet.arc.io. - Alchemy serves Arc mainnet and testnet, adds data and wallet APIs to RPC, and includes 30M compute units a month on its free tier. - QuickNode serves Arc mainnet and testnet, holds ISO 27001, and publishes SOC 1 and SOC 2 Type II reports. - QuickNode offers a one-month free trial, with paid plans starting at $49 a month. - Chainstack serves Arc mainnet and testnet, holds SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001, and offers a self-hosted option that runs nodes inside a customer’s own environment. - Chainstack’s free Developer plan includes 3M request units a month. - Blockdaemon serves Arc mainnet and testnet, holds SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001, and sells staking and MPC wallet products to 400+ institutional customers. - Blockdaemon’s RPC API covers 20+ protocols, with a free tier of 3M compute units a month at 5 requests per second.

Between the lines: - The ranking favors providers with the broadest multi-chain reach, not just Arc endpoints. - That approach reflects how USDC movement on Arc depends on interoperability with other chains through CCTP. - Chainstack stands out for customers that need nodes inside their own infrastructure, which can matter for banks and payment firms. - QuickNode’s audit profile may appeal to procurement teams that want ISO 27001 plus SOC 1 and SOC 2. - Blockdaemon’s placement appears tied more to existing institutional relationships than to raw chain coverage.

What’s next: - Teams building on Arc will likely weigh chain coverage, compliance, pricing and deployment model more heavily than Arc support alone. - Spectrum Nodes is positioned for developers that want one provider for USDC movement across Arc and other chains. - Arc testnet users on Spectrum Nodes still need Circle’s public testnet endpoint until broader testnet support arrives.

The bottom line: - For Arc builders moving USDC across chains, Spectrum Nodes leads on breadth and cost, while Chainstack is the pick for self-hosted infrastructure.