India ARC Stablecoin Set to Launch in Early 2026 Backed by Rupee

India ARC Stablecoin: Boost Financial Stability and Domestic Liquidity

India is moving closer to launching the ARC stablecoin, a new rupee-backed digital coin designed to keep liquidity within the country and reduce the growing shift toward dollar-based digital assets. According to industry reports, the India ARC stablecoin launch date is set for the first quarter of 2026, marking a major milestone in the country’s digital finance strategy.

Source: CryptoIndia

Developed by Polygon and fintech firm Anq, the India stablecoin project will introduce a fully collateralized digital asset backed 1:1 by the Indian rupee. Each token will be supported by government securities, treasury bills, or cash equivalents, ensuring the virtual token is a secure, transparent, and compliant Indian rupee stablecoin.

A New Strategy to Protect India’s Economy

The launch comes as India works to prevent capital outflows into dollar-backed tokens like USDC and USDT. The India stablecoin framework aims to keep liquidity inside the domestic economy, support demand for government debt, and strengthen financial stability.

The digital currency will work within a two-tier system:

• The RBI’s digital rupee (CBDC) will act as the settlement layer.
  

• The ARC-coin will operate as a regulated, programmable layer for payments, remittances, and business transactions.
  

This setup ensures monetary sovereignty while still allowing private companies to innovate.

India's Digital Coin Framework

Project documents describe the digital currency as a sovereign-backed instrument, not a speculative token. Only verified business accounts will be allowed to mint ARC tokens, supporting compliance with foreign exchange rules.

The ecosystem will use Uniswap v4 hooks to ensure all swaps are limited to approved, whitelisted addresses. This adds more control and avoids the risks associated with open and permissionless stablecoins.

Though some crypto users questioned if ARC is too centralized, developers have clarified that the goal is to strengthen nation's financial system with blockchain, not to create another high-risk cryptocurrency.

Infrastructure Growth and Price Outlook

While the ARC stablecoins price will always stay equal to 1 INR, the project expects to influence India’s wider crypto market, especially as interest in rupee-backed stablecoins increases. The token may also improve liquidity in government bonds since minting requires buying national securities.

This development arrives during rising concerns about global-stablecoin adoption. Standard Chartered recently warned that emerging markets could lose up to $1 trillion in bank deposits to USD stablecoins by 2028. The news highlights the country is taking a proactive approach to protect its financial system.

Broader Implications: Controls, Security & Compliance

The ARC stablecoin is positioned as a regulated, rupee-backed stablecoin built to minimize risk, since only verified business accounts can mint the tokens. Along with that, the coin will use Uniswap v4 whitelisted-address restrictions, ensuring that only approved participants can trade, reinforcing regulatory oversight while limiting unauthorized trading.

With these the project promotes a secure, non-speculative model as every token collateralized by Indian government securities, supporting the long-term vision of a compliant stablecoin ecosystem.

However, some critics argue this model introduces excessive centralization, since the ARC coin cannot be openly traded or mined, prompting concerns about limited decentralization and the absence of ARC-stablecoin mining. 

Despite these debates, the expected launch in early 2026, with a controlled structure that could help the country to reduce reliance on dollar-backed tokens, sets new standards for Indian crypto regulations, adoption, and stability.