Extended, a decentralized perpetuals exchange, is packing up its settlement layer and moving from Starknet to Arc, the Layer 1 blockchain developed by Circle. The migration is scheduled to begin on October 22, 2026, at 13:00 UTC.
What changes, and what doesn’t
Extended says trading will run without interruption throughout the migration. Deposits and withdrawals will pause for up to two hours while the move takes place.
For most users, no action is required. The exchange expects the majority of participants to wake up on the other side of the migration with balances intact and positions untouched.
USDT and wBTC will not be supported on Arc. Users holding either asset have two options before the October 21, 2026, deadline. They can convert USDT into USDC and wBTC into cirBTC at a 1:1 ratio, or they can withdraw. The conversion terms also include a 0.50% premium. Traders holding meaningful USDT or wBTC balances should check exactly how that premium applies to their holdings before the cutoff.
ETH holders get the easy version. Their balances will be automatically converted to wETH at a 1:1 ratio, with no paperwork required.
Why Arc, and why now
Arc is Circle’s own blockchain, and its mainnet launched on September 16, 2026, with a founding validator set that includes BlackRock and Visa.
Extended’s stated goals for the move include faster performance through sub-second finality and stablecoin-denominated transaction fees. Extended has framed the migration as a way to build deeper connections with institutional investors, and predictable fees are part of that appeal.
USDC is Circle’s flagship stablecoin, so shifting stablecoin balances from USDT to USDC aligns the exchange with its new host chain’s native ecosystem.
The scale of the move
Extended holds approximately $117.7 million in total value locked, most of it on Starknet. Moving a nine-figure pool from one settlement layer to another, while keeping the order book live, is a meaningful operational test.
What this means for traders and the broader market
For Extended’s users, the near-term to-do list is short but non-negotiable. Anyone holding USDT or wBTC needs to convert or withdraw by October 21, 2026, and should plan around the two-hour deposit and withdrawal pause starting October 22 at 13:00 UTC.
For Arc, landing an established perpetuals exchange within weeks of mainnet is a useful early signal. A derivatives venue bringing approximately $117.7 million in TVL gives Arc a working, high-throughput use case to point to.
There is also a concentration question. Moving onto a chain built by a single stablecoin issuer, with USDC as the default dollar asset, ties Extended more closely to Circle’s ecosystem.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Estefano Gomez. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.