Arc Mainnet Is Live: Chain ID, RPC & First Steps

What is live on Arc mainnet

Arc mainnet opened on September 16, 2026 and is running. Circle's stablecoin Layer-1 now carries real USDC, real gas fees, and real deployments — not a rehearsal. Projects that were "announced" or "testnet-only" during the runway are, in many cases, now live for real; others are still catching up. The distinction still matters: being named in a press release, having run on testnet, and having a contract live on mainnet today are three different states, and only the third is checkable by a stranger.

The checked list, with the evidence behind each status, is maintained at Built on Arc's live list.

How to check a claim yourself

Three checks settle almost every case, in about two minutes.

1. Find the mainnet contract address or endpoint the project publishes. A testnet address (chain ID 5042002) is not evidence of a mainnet deployment.
2. Look it up on the official mainnet explorer, explorer.arc.io. Copy the URL from Circle's own documentation at docs.arc.io — never from a post, a DM, or a search ad. Fake "official" explorers are a common scam in the weeks after a chain launch.
3. Check whether the project has said so itself. A counterparty naming you is weaker evidence than you naming yourself.

Status changes are logged at builtonarc.app/updates.

What are Arc's mainnet parameters?

The verified network details for Arc mainnet:

Take these values only from this page, docs.arc.io, or circle.com. A wrong RPC can feed you false balances and bait transactions. The testnet (chain ID 5042002, rpc.testnet.arc.io) remains live and separate; the testnet guide covers it.

How do you add Arc mainnet to your wallet?

In MetaMask: Settings → Networks → Add network → Add a network manually, then enter the name, chain ID, RPC URL, symbol (USDC), and explorer from the table above and save. That's the whole setup — about a minute. The full MetaMask guide covers one-click adds from apps and hardware-wallet pairing, and the wallet comparison covers Ledger, Binance Wallet, and Fireblocks.

One display quirk you may still see: some wallets label the native balance "ETH" out of habit. The balance is USDC — the number is right, the ticker is cosmetic.

How do you get USDC onto Arc mainnet?

Via CCTP, Circle's native transfer protocol, from Ethereum, Base, Solana, and other supported chains — no wrapped assets, no third-party bridge risk. The quickstart: open the bridge guide, select your source chain, send USDC to Arc, and it arrives as native USDC — the same asset that pays your gas. There is no separate gas token to buy: the first USDC you bridge funds everything you'll do. Fees on Arc target roughly a cent per transaction, so a small first bridge goes a long way.

There is no faucet on mainnet. Faucets exist only on testnet (faucet.circle.com). Anything offering "free mainnet USDC" is phishing.

What should you do first — and what should you not do?

Worth doing in your first session: send a small test transfer before any large one (how sending works); look yourself up on the explorer so you know how to verify your own transactions; and if you're launching a project, start the launch checklist from step one rather than racing to deploy — launches that skip the trust steps get filtered by Arc's diligence-heavy audience.

Now the warnings, because live networks attract scammers constantly:

There is still no ARC token. Mainnet going live does not change this. Circle's whitepaper describes an exploratory coordination asset; no token has launched and no airdrop has been announced. Every "ARC" token trading today is counterfeit. The full story.

Expect fake airdrops and fake faucets. Mainnet has no faucet — faucets are a testnet-only thing. Any site offering "mainnet Arc airdrops" or asking you to connect a wallet to "claim launch rewards" is phishing.

Verify before you buy anything. New chains attract instant scam tokens. Run the 5-minute safety checklist on any token before buying, and take contract addresses only from projects' official channels.

Then bridge funds to Arc — USDC arrives ready to spend as gas.

New tokens on Arc

New pools appear constantly now that the chain is open, and there are three places to watch them. DexScreener, or any chart that indexes Arc pools, is the fastest route to a price. Arcscan's token list is the authoritative on-chain record when you want the contract rather than the price. memecentral.fun/arc carries the same feed with lock status attached to each row. Launch venues on Arc split between bonding-curve designs and single-sided designs that open a public pool from the first block; Bullcheese, TrustSwap's own launchpad, is live on Arc. Whichever token appears, read its lock record before you read its chart.

FAQ

When did Arc mainnet launch? September 16, 2026. The public testnet had been live since October 28, 2025 and continues to operate separately.

What is Arc's mainnet chain ID? 5042 (hex 0x13b2). Cross-check against docs.arc.io before trusting any other source.

Do I need a new wallet for mainnet? No — the same wallet works. Mainnet is a separate network entry alongside testnet; add it with the parameters above. Testnet balances are valueless rehearsal assets and do not carry over.

What does gas cost on Arc mainnet? Gas is paid in USDC and dollar-denominated by design, targeting roughly $0.01 per transaction under an EIP-1559 fee model with a 20 gwei minimum base fee. The exact fee is visible in your wallet before each transaction confirms.

Is there an Arc airdrop for mainnet users? No airdrop has been announced, and no ARC token exists. Treat every airdrop claim site as phishing until Circle itself says otherwise — announcements come from arc.io and circle.com only.