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How to trade crypto with USDC on Arc
To trade crypto with USDC on Arc, open arky, deposit USDC over Circle CCTP, pick a memecoin, spot asset or prediction market, enter a dollar amount and sign in your wallet. On Arc, USDC is the gas token, so the same balance pays for the trade and the network fee.
Why USDC is the easiest way to trade on Arc
On most chains, trading with dollars means holding two assets: the stablecoin you trade with and a separate, volatile token to pay gas. Run out of the gas token and you are stuck, even with plenty of USDC. Arc removes that step. Its documentation states that "Arc denominates all transaction fees in USDC, the native gas token", with a design target of about $0.001 per ERC-20 transfer under normal load (Arc gas and fees docs).
That changes three things for a trader:
- No second token. You never buy ETH or SOL just to be allowed to trade.
- Fees in dollars. A network fee is a dollar figure, so the cost of a trade does not move with the price of a gas token.
- One unit everywhere. On arky, prices, balances, profit and loss and fees are all in USDC, so there is nothing to convert.
Step by step on arky
- Open arky. Go to app.arky.bet and create the built-in wallet or connect MetaMask, Phantom, Rabby, OKX, Coinbase Wallet or another EVM wallet.
- Deposit USDC. Use the Deposit wizard to bring USDC to Arc over Circle CCTP, or send USDC you already hold on Arc to your address.
- Pick a market. Choose a memecoin on the Pulse or Memecoins desk, a spot asset on Trade, or a question on Predictions.
- Enter a dollar amount. Type how many dollars to spend. The ticket shows the quote and the network fee in USDC.
- Sign in your wallet. Approve the transaction. Arc finalizes it in under a second and your portfolio updates live.
- Withdraw when you want. Use the Send wizard to move USDC back out, to another address or another chain.
The bridge step is covered in detail in how to bridge USDC to Arc. Circle's own page on Circle CCTP explains how USDC moves between chains by burning on one and minting on the other, so you receive native USDC rather than a wrapped copy.
Arc vs Solana vs Base for trading with USDC
All three chains carry USDC issued by Circle. The difference is what you pay gas in.
| Arc | Solana | Base | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gas token | USDC | SOL | ETH |
| Network fee shown in | Dollars | SOL (lamports) | ETH (gwei) |
| Need a second token to trade with USDC | No | Yes, SOL | Yes, ETH |
| Fee cost moves with a volatile token | No | Yes | Yes |
| Finality, per the chain's docs | Under 1 second, deterministic | Not compared here; see each chain's docs | |
Sources, checked 4 October 2026: Arc gas and fees docs; Solana fees (fees are paid in SOL, with a base fee per signature plus an optional priority fee); Base network fees (an L2 execution fee plus an L1 security fee, paid in ETH). Solana and Base are fast, mature chains with deep markets; the point here is narrower. If you want to hold only dollars, Arc is the chain built for that.
What you can buy with USDC on arky
- Memecoins on a bonding curve that graduate to Uniswap v4. See memecoins on Arc.
- Spot assets with live prices quoted in USDC, on the trading terminal.
- Prediction markets settled in USDC. See predictions.
You can also ask Scout, arky's AI trading agent: "buy $20 of [token]" produces a proposal card, and your wallet signs it.
About fees on arky
Two costs apply to a trade: the Arc network fee, paid in USDC, and arky's trading fee, part of which goes to the token's creator on the launchpad. arky shows the cost of each trade in the ticket before you sign, so check it there. Fee levels can change, and the app is the source of truth.
Common mistakes
- Sending USDC on the wrong network. Use the Deposit wizard rather than a manual transfer from an exchange, unless the exchange supports Arc.
- Ignoring slippage on new tokens. Bonding-curve tokens can move fast; keep slippage tight.
- Oversizing. Memecoins and prediction markets are high risk. Trade only what you can afford to lose.
More on the chain: what Arc is, or the official site at arc.io. Ready? Open app.arky.bet.
FAQ
Can I trade crypto with USDC?
Yes. On arky, every market on Arc is priced in USDC: memecoins, spot assets and prediction markets. Because USDC is Arc's gas token, you need no other token to trade.
What is USDC on the Arc chain?
On Arc, USDC is both the main stablecoin and the native gas token. It is issued by Circle, which also builds Arc, and it has an ERC-20 interface for apps.
Do I need ETH for gas on Arc?
No. Arc fees are denominated in USDC, so you pay gas from the same USDC balance you trade with.
How do I move USDC to Arc?
Use Circle CCTP, which burns USDC on the source chain and mints native USDC on Arc. arky's Deposit wizard walks you through it step by step.
Are trading fees on arky shown in dollars?
Yes. Network fees on Arc are paid in USDC, and arky shows each trade's cost in dollars in the ticket before you sign.