What is Arc?
Arc is a Layer 1 blockchain developed by Circle. It is EVM-compatible and purpose-built for stablecoin-based financial use cases, including payments, FX, on-chain credit, and capital markets.
Arc uses USDC as its native gas token, enabling low-cost, USD-denominated transaction fees and sub-second finality.
The Arc Testnet is now live. You can add an Arc Testnet account in imToken to try transfers and smart contract interactions. Testnet tokens are for testing purposes only and have no real-world value.
How does Arc work?
Arc is built with several core components:
Consensus layer (Malachite)
Arc uses the Malachite consensus engine, a Tendermint-based Byzantine Fault Tolerant (BFT) consensus, combined with a Proof of Authority (PoA) model. This layer orders transactions, produces blocks, and delivers deterministic finality in approximately one second — once a transaction is confirmed, it cannot be rolled back.
Execution layer
The execution layer is built on Reth, a Rust-based implementation of the Ethereum execution client. It operates in an EVM environment, maintains accounts, balances, and contract state, executes transfers and smart contract calls, and integrates modules such as fee management and stablecoin services
Stablecoin gas fee model
USDC is used as the native gas token. Transaction fees are denominated directly in USDC, with the fee mechanism targeting an average cost of around $0.01 per transaction, making fees predictable and aligned with fiat pricing.
Opt-in privacy
Arc plans to introduce an opt-in privacy module that provides configurable transaction privacy — for example, encrypting amounts and other sensitive fields while enabling controlled disclosure through view keys.
Main features
- EVM compatibility
- Sub-second finality
- Pay gas in USDC
How to use Arc Testnet with imToken?
Creating an Arc Testnet account
To create an Arc Testnet account, go to “My Profile” → “Manage wallets” → “Add”, scroll to the bottom and tap “Expand testnets”, check Arc Testnet under Popular and confirm, then return to the wallet homepage to access your newly created Arc Testnet account.
Receiving and transferring funds
In the Arc account, you can click "Transfer" or "Receive" and then perform the corresponding operation.
Receiving
Click "Receive ", share the QR code or copy the address and send it to the other party.
Transferring
Click "Transfer", set the type and amount of token you want to transfer, enter the recipient's address, and then click "Next".
Note: Before making a transfer, please ensure that your account has sufficient USDC to cover the gas fee.
Claiming test tokens
On the Arc Testnet account homepage, tap “Faucet”. Select the token and enter your receiving address, then tap “Send 1 XXX” to receive USDC, EURC.
Exploring the Arc Testnet ecosystem
- Arc Testnet explorer: A block explorer for viewing Arc Testnet blocks, transactions, tokens, and addresses.
- Arc Testnet DAppscout: A DApp discovery platform on Arc Testnet where you can find and access DApps in the Arc ecosystem.
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