TL;DR: Arc uses USDC for network fees. That can make costs easier to read in dollar terms, but it does not make transactions free or every fee identical.
Sources checked September 12, 2026. Educational information, not financial advice.
Gas is the cost of processing an action
A transfer or smart-contract action consumes network resources. The gas fee pays for processing it. On Arc, the documented fee asset is USDC. Arc’s gas documentation explains the model.
The useful distinction is between the asset you are sending and the asset used for the fee. They can be the same asset, but you still need to budget for two amounts.
A simple payment example
Imagine a wallet containing 10 USDC. You want to send 10 USDC, and the displayed fee is 0.01 USDC. Without fee sponsorship or another arrangement, the total is 10.01 USDC: more than the balance.
Those numbers are fictional. They illustrate why “send everything” and “keep enough for the next action” can conflict. Use the current wallet estimate, not a fee number copied from a tutorial.
Dollar-denominated does not mean fixed
Describing a fee in USDC helps readers interpret the unit. It does not establish that every transaction costs the same amount. Different actions can require different work, and the estimate presented before signing remains the relevant figure.
A stablecoin is also designed to track a value; it is not the same thing as cash held in a bank account. Learn the reserve, redemption and market-price distinctions in our stablecoin introduction.
Watch the wallet display
The testnet connection guide notes that some wallets may display “ETH” despite the underlying gas asset being USDC. Check current wallet compatibility before funding mainnet. A display label is not enough to identify an asset. Connection guide.
Frequently asked questions
Does an ARC token announcement change what I budget for fees?
The announced ARC coordination token and the documented USDC gas model are separate concepts. Read the current network and wallet documentation for what a transaction requires.