Countdown series · T-minus 19
Arc Mainnet, T-minus 19: what dollar-denominated gas changes for a normal user
Gas paid in USDC means fees you can read without a calculator. It also means one fewer asset you are forced to hold.
On most EVM chains a first-time user hits the same wall: they hold the token they wanted, and none of the token the network requires for fees. Arc charges gas in USDC, with 18 decimals on testnet, where the average transaction has cost around four tenths of a cent.
The practical effect is that a fee is quotable in advance in the same unit as the payment. That is unremarkable in payments and unusual in crypto, which is precisely why the institutions on the validator list are there.
Why it matters
It lowers the number of things a beginner must understand before their first transaction from three to two. It does not make Arc safe, cheap forever, or a good place to put money you cannot lose. Fee levels on a testnet under no economic load are an indication, not a promise.
One lesson
Learn how gas works on Arc before you bridge anything, so the first fee you pay is not a surprise.
Sources
Related
- Arc Mainnet, T-minus 20: the fake ARC tokens are already tradingPrevious issue · T-minus 20
- Arc Mainnet, T-minus 18: the validator list is the whole storyNext issue · T-minus 18
- ARC token: confirmed versus unconfirmedThe standing ledger of what Circle has actually published
- Arc network dataTestnet figures, updated by hand with sources
