arky adds Bitcoin Up/Down rounds and crypto perps on Arc

By the arky team · Published 5 October 2026

arky, the trading terminal on Circle's Arc chain, now runs two new products on mainnet. Bitcoin Up or Down rounds went live on 4 October 2026: 5- and 15-minute bets in USDC on 11 pairs, settled on chain with RedStone prices. Perps let you go long or short on about 35 major cryptos, up to 20x, through Hyperliquid.

Until this week, arky was a memecoin launchpad, event prediction markets and spot trading in one screen on Arc. Two things were missing for the traders we talk to every day: a fast, repeatable bet on where Bitcoin goes next, and leverage on the majors without leaving the terminal. Both are now live. This post covers what launched, how each one works, why it matters if you trade on Arc, how to try it, and the risks.

What launched on arky this week?

Two products launched on Arc mainnet: Up/Down rounds (live since 4 October 2026) and perpetual futures on major cryptocurrencies.

	Up/Down rounds	Perps
What you bet on	Whether a coin closes the round higher or lower than it started	Long or short price exposure, held as long as you want
Markets	11 pairs: BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, BNB, DOGE, ADA, AVAX, AAVE, POL, TRX	About 35 majors (BTC, ETH, SOL and others); never memecoins
Duration	5-minute and 15-minute rounds	No expiry
Currency	USDC on Arc, minimum 1 USDC	USDC, moved from Arc to Hyperliquid over Circle CCTP
Leverage	None: you can lose your stake, not more	Up to 20x, capped by arky
Where it settles	The ArkyUpDown contract on Arc	Hyperliquid, via arky's builder code
Price source	RedStone signed price data, 60-second TWAP	Hyperliquid's own mark price
Order types	Up or Down	Market, limit, take-profit and stop-loss

How do Bitcoin Up or Down rounds work?

You pick a pair and a round, bet USDC on Up or Down, and if you are right you share the losing side's pot with the other winners in proportion to your stake. It is pari-mutuel: you bet against other players, not against arky, and there is no fixed price per share.

Choose a round. Each of the 11 pairs runs a 5-minute and a 15-minute series. Betting on a round closes about a minute before it starts, and you can also queue a bet on an upcoming round.
Bet in USDC. The minimum is 1 USDC, paid from your Arc wallet. Your wallet signs the bet.
Lock and close prices. At the start and end of the round, a keeper posts RedStone signed price data to the contract. Each price is a 60-second time-weighted average (six points, 10 seconds apart), which makes a one-tick spike much harder to exploit than a single snapshot (RedStone docs).
Settle and claim. If the close is above the lock, Up wins; below, Down wins. Winners claim their share of the pot. A small fee is taken from the pot of settled rounds only.

Three cases are void and refunded in full, with no fee: a tie (close equals lock), a one-sided round (nobody bet against you), and a round where no valid price was posted in time. Settlement runs in the ArkyUpDown contract on Arc (0x8a4335D408D8aD06b13c943431CF570855213495), so the outcome is the stored prices, not a human decision.

Short crypto rounds are not new: Polymarket offers Bitcoin up or down markets on 15-minute windows (Yahoo Finance). What is new is having them on Arc, in USDC that also pays your gas, next to the rest of your trading. For the longer explainer, read Bitcoin up or down: how 5- and 15-minute rounds work.

How do crypto perps on arky work?

arky perps are perpetual futures executed on Hyperliquid and opened from the arky terminal, with your own wallet as the account owner. arky attaches its builder code to each order, which is Hyperliquid's mechanism for an app to route orders and earn a fee on them (Hyperliquid docs: builder codes).

Only majors. About 35 large cryptocurrencies by market cap and volume, including BTC, ETH and SOL. No memecoin, ours included, ever gets a leverage button.
20x cap. arky caps leverage at 20x on every market even where the venue allows more (Hyperliquid allows 40x on BTC). The effective cap is the lower of the two.
Orders. Long or short, market or limit, with one take-profit and one stop-loss per position. Open positions show live P&L with Close and Close half.
Funding. A Deposit panel moves USDC from your Arc wallet to your Hyperliquid perps balance over Circle CCTP, which burns and mints native USDC rather than wrapping it. Withdrawals go back to the same Arc wallet, signed by your wallet.
One signature to start. You sign once to enable a trading key; after that orders go through without a wallet popup until the key expires. The trading key cannot withdraw funds.

The full guide is crypto perps on Arc.

Why does this matter for Arc traders?

It means one USDC balance on Arc now covers memecoins, event markets, fast price bets, spot and leverage, without a second gas token or a second app. Arc uses USDC as its gas token and reaches deterministic finality in under a second (Arc docs), so a 5-minute round settles in dollars on a chain that does not make you wait.

A market that never runs out of events. Event markets wait for news; Up/Down rounds open every 5 and 15 minutes on 11 pairs.
Hedging next to your bags. A memecoin trader holding Arc tokens can short ETH or BTC from the same terminal when the market turns.
Deep liquidity without leaving. Perps fill on Hyperliquid's order book, while your wallet, history and Scout stay in arky.

Scout, the AI agent every arky user gets, answers from live arky data and proposes trades; your wallet still signs every trade. If you are new to the category, start with our guide to crypto prediction markets.

How do I try Up/Down or perps?

Open app.arky.bet, connect an EVM wallet on Arc, and deposit USDC.

Add Arc to your wallet (chain ID 5042). Our Arc network details page lists the settings.
Bring USDC to Arc with the Deposit wizard, or follow how to bridge USDC to Arc.
For Up/Down, open Predictions, pick a pair and a 5- or 15-minute round, and bet from 1 USDC.
For perps, open a major such as BTC, switch to Perps, deposit to Hyperliquid, enable your trading key, then set size, leverage and an optional TP/SL.

Unsure about a term like TWAP, pari-mutuel or builder code? The arky glossary defines them.

What are the risks?

Both products can lose you money fast; size small and read the rules before your first trade.

Up/Down is close to a coin flip over 5 minutes. The fee on settled pots means the average bettor loses over time. Treat it as entertainment with a limit.
Leverage amplifies losses. At 20x a 5% move against you can liquidate a position. Use a stop-loss and lower leverage than the cap.
Venue and bridge risk. Perps rely on Hyperliquid and on Circle CCTP for transfers. Hyperliquid charges a one-time 1 USDC activation fee on a new account.
Oracle risk. Up/Down outcomes depend on RedStone prices. Missing prices void the round and refund it rather than settle on a bad number.
Local rules. Leveraged derivatives and prediction products are restricted in some countries. Check what applies where you live.

More context: memecoins on Arc, how to trade on Arc with USDC, and how arky compares with Polymarket and Axiom. All posts are on the arky blog.

FAQ

What is Bitcoin Up or Down on arky?

A short prediction round: you bet USDC on whether BTC (or one of 10 other pairs) will close higher or lower than it started over 5 or 15 minutes. Winners split the pot. Rounds run on Arc mainnet and settle on chain using RedStone price data.

What happens if the price does not move in an Up/Down round?

A tie is void and every bet is refunded. Rounds where only one side has bets, or where no valid price arrives in time, are also void and refunded in full.

Which coins can I trade with leverage on arky?

About 35 major cryptocurrencies, including BTC, ETH and SOL. arky never offers leverage on memecoins, including its own launchpad tokens.

What is the maximum leverage on arky perps?

20x. arky caps leverage at 20x on every market, even where Hyperliquid allows more, and the effective cap is the lower of the two.

Where are arky perps executed?

On Hyperliquid, through arky's builder code. You move USDC from Arc to your Hyperliquid perps balance over Circle CCTP inside arky, and back again when you are done.

What is the minimum bet in an Up/Down round?

1 USDC on Arc.