Arc testnet faucet: get free test USDC

By the arky team · Updated 4 October 2026 · Sources linked inline

How to use the Arc testnet faucet

1. Add Arc Testnet to your wallet. Network name Arc Testnet, RPC https://rpc.testnet.arc.io, chain ID 5042002, symbol USDC, explorer https://explorer.testnet.arc.io. Full steps in add Arc to MetaMask.
2. Open faucet.circle.com. No account is needed; the faucet is public and permissionless.
3. Choose the asset and network. Select USDC and Arc Testnet. EURC and cirBTC are also available.
4. Paste your address and request. You receive 20 test USDC. Because USDC is Arc's gas token, that covers gas too.
5. Check it arrived on explorer.testnet.arc.io.

Faucet limits

Sources: faucet.circle.com and Arc docs: Connect to Arc, checked 4 October 2026. Limits can change; the faucet page is authoritative.

Arc testnet vs mainnet

Test USDC cannot be moved to mainnet or sold. If a site offers to "convert" testnet USDC or promises an airdrop for faucet activity, it is not from Circle. As of October 2026 there is no official ARC token airdrop (details).

What to do with test USDC

• Deploy a contract. Arc is EVM-compatible, so Foundry and Hardhat work; remember native USDC has 18 decimals and the USDC token contract at 0x3600…0000 has 6 (Arc docs: contract addresses).
• Practise CCTP. Circle's faucet also funds other testnets such as Ethereum Sepolia and Base Sepolia, so you can try a burn-and-mint transfer into Arc Testnet. See bridge USDC to Arc.
• Try Arc testnet dApps. Many apps from the Arc ecosystem keep a testnet deployment.
• Learn the wallet flow. Gas in USDC, a 20 gwei minimum fee and sub-second finality all behave the same on testnet as on mainnet.

Arc Testnet for developers

Besides the public RPC, the Arc docs list testnet endpoints from Blockdaemon (https://rpc.blockdaemon.testnet.arc.io), dRPC (https://rpc.drpc.testnet.arc.io) and QuickNode (https://rpc.quicknode.testnet.arc.io), with WebSocket variants. A few behaviours differ from Ethereum and are worth testing before mainnet:

• Balances in two units. eth_getBalance returns the native USDC balance with 18 decimals, while balanceOf on the USDC token returns 6 decimals. Mixing them up is the classic Arc bug.
• Fee floor. Transactions under 20 gwei maxFeePerGas are dropped without a receipt, so hard-coded low gas prices from other chains fail silently.
• No reorgs. Once a block is final it stays final, so indexers and deposit watchers can act after one block instead of waiting for confirmations (Arc docs: system overview).
• CCTP domain 26. Arc's CCTP domain is the same on testnet and mainnet; the contract addresses differ (Arc docs: contract addresses).

Faucet not working?

• "Already requested": wait out the 2-hour window for that address, asset and network.
• Nothing in the wallet: make sure the wallet is on Arc Testnet (5042002), not Arc mainnet.
• Wrong address format: Arc uses standard 0x EVM addresses.

Ready for mainnet?

Everything you learned on testnet carries over: the same wallet setup with chain ID 5042 instead of 5042002, the same USDC gas, the same CCTP flow with real USDC from Ethereum, Base, Arbitrum or another supported chain. When you are done testing, move to Arc mainnet with real USDC. arky is the trading terminal of Arc: the trading terminal, memecoin launchpad and USDC prediction markets and spot trading, with Scout, your AI agent. Fund it through CCTP with the Deposit wizard at app.arky.bet, or read how to trade on Arc with USDC.