Bear Market Task: Circle Arc Early Interaction Step-by-Step Guide

Author: KarenZ, Foresight News

It has been three weeks since Circle’s Layer 1 blockchain Arc launched its testnet. Unlike many Layer 2s, Arc positions itself as the “economic operating system for the Internet.” Its biggest killer feature is using USDC directly as gas fees, meaning users and institutions can transact on-chain without holding ETH or other volatile tokens.

In addition, Arc is EVM-compatible, offers configurable privacy options to support compliance requirements, and is directly integrated with Circle’s full-stack platform—making it suitable for scenarios such as lending, capital markets, forex, and payments.

More critically, as an EVM-compatible chain built by stablecoin giant Circle, Arc boasts two core advantages: on one hand, it leverages Circle’s accumulated TradFi resources, and on the other, it taps into USDC’s massive liquidity pools. This gives it a strong chance to become the primary hub for RWA (real world assets) and enterprise applications in the future, taking a leading position in institutional blockchain adoption.

On the day of its Q3 financial report release, Circle also revealed it is exploring the possibility of launching a native token on Arc. Currently, Arc is in its public testnet phase, making it the perfect window for users to experience features early and spot potential ecosystem opportunities. It’s important to note that testnet interactions do not necessarily guarantee future rewards, so participants are advised to join with a mindset of learning and exploration, and to approach airdrop opportunities rationally.

Below is a summary of 8 interaction steps, covering basic configuration, contract deployment, token swaps, and NFT minting.

Arc Interaction Guide

1. Add Arc testnet network: https://testnet.arcscan.app/

2. Claim USDC or EURC test tokens: https://faucet.circle.com/

3. On OnChainGM, select the Arc testnet, send a GM interaction and deploy a contract; both actions require wallet signature: https://onchaingm.com/deploy

4. On zkCodex, send GM, deploy a simple contract, token contract, NFT contract, and mint a commemorative NFT: https://zkcodex.com/onchain/gm

5. On OmniHub, deploy an NFT collection (requires uploading images, confirming name, etc.): https://omnihub.xyz/create

6. On Curve, swap USDC for WUSDC on the Arc testnet, and add USDC/EURC liquidity: https://www.curve.finance/dex/arc/swap/

7. On Arc’s native DEX ArcFlow Finance, follow the official Twitter and join the project Discord server to mint a Genesis Pass NFT.

8. Register a domain name on InfinityName: https://infinityname.com/

It’s worth noting that Arc previously announced the first 11 projects building on its public testnet, including: ZKP2P, a P2P fiat channel project supported by ZK proofs; general-purpose crypto trading platform Sequence; smart agent solution hub Superface; stablecoin wallet infrastructure Blockradar; stablecoin banking services Copperx; crypto API developer Crossmint; cross-border fund transfer and management platform Hurupay; wallet infrastructure Para; personalized finance platform CFi; ZK-based wallet Hinkal; and cross-chain infrastructure Axelar Network.

These projects aim to enable use cases in lending, capital markets, forex, payments, and more on Arc. However, most projects have yet to publicly disclose specific progress on their builds.