Extended, a decentralized perpetuals exchange, is relocating its settlement layer from Starknet to Arc, the Layer 1 blockchain developed by stablecoin issuer Circle. According to the exchange, the migration is scheduled to begin on October 22, 2026, at 13:00 UTC.

What Changes, and What Does Not

Extended says trading will run without interruption throughout the migration. Deposits and withdrawals, however, 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 come through the migration with balances intact and positions untouched.

USDT and wBTC will not be supported on Arc. Holders of either asset face a choice ahead of the October 21, 2026, deadline: they can convert USDT, the dollar-pegged stablecoin issued by Tether, into USDC, and wBTC, a wrapped, tokenized version of bitcoin, into cirBTC at a 1:1 ratio, or they can withdraw their funds. The conversion terms also include a 0.50% premium, and traders holding meaningful USDT or wBTC balances should check exactly how that premium applies to their holdings before the cutoff.

ETH holders get the simpler path. Their balances will be automatically converted to wETH at a 1:1 ratio as part of the migration, with no action required on their end.

Why Arc, and Why Now

Arc is Circle's own blockchain. Its mainnet launched on September 16, 2026, with a founding validator set that includes asset manager BlackRock and payments company Visa. The destination also represents a shift in infrastructure model: Starknet, Extended's current settlement layer, is an Ethereum Layer 2 network, while Arc puts the venue on a chain built by the same company that issues its default dollar stablecoin.

Extended's stated goals for the move include faster performance through sub-second finality and stablecoin-denominated transaction fees. For a perpetuals exchange, where positions depend on continuous margining and collateral updates need to settle quickly, finality speed has direct operational relevance. The exchange 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 the native ecosystem of its new host chain.

The Scale of the Move

Extended holds approximately $117.7 million in total value locked, the bulk of it currently on Starknet. Relocating a nine-figure pool from one settlement layer to another, all while keeping the order book live represents a meaningful operational test for the exchange.

What This Means for Traders and the Broader Market

For Extended's users, the near-term checklist is short but firm. 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. The milestones to watch from there are the ones the exchange has already set: trading staying live through the pause window and deposits and withdrawals resuming within the stated two-hour limit.

For Arc, landing an established perpetuals exchange within weeks of its mainnet launch is a useful early signal. A derivatives venue bringing approximately $117.7 million in TVL gives the chain a working, high-throughput use case to point to, and executing the move with trading kept live will provide one of the chain's earliest demonstrations under demanding, real-time workloads.

There is also a concentration question hanging over the move. Settling on a chain built by a single stablecoin issuer, with USDC as the default dollar asset, ties Extended more closely to Circle's ecosystem.