On Arc the native currency is USDC, not ETH. It pays for gas and for fees, so you need a USDC balance on the network before you can sign anything.
How you are charged
Volume-tiered fees
Every swap routed to an external DEX pays a flat fee in USDC, and it falls as your swap count rises. It is not a percentage of the trade: it is the same amount whether you swap 20 USDC or 20,000.
Volume-tiered fees
Swaps completed
Fee per swap
0–4 swaps
0.1 USDC
5–19 swaps
0.05 USDC
20–49 swaps
0.02 USDC
50–99 swaps
0.005 USDC
100 or more swaps
0.0013 USDC
Counts swaps completed in the last 7 days, as a rolling window. The tier recalculates itself: stop trading for a week and you are back on the entry tier.
No top-up needed: you can also pay for each swap on-chain as you go. It uses no credit, but adds a second signature to every swap. Fixed cost per swap: 0.0013 USDC
Your fee at your volume
Real calculation
Drag to see which fee you land on for a given number of swaps inside the window.
0 swaps done · 7d
Your fee
0.1
USDC per swap
5 more swaps drops you to 0.05 USDC.
Getting started
From zero to your first swap
These four steps run in order. Once they are done you can trade; everything else is optional.
1
Connect your wallet
Hit "Connect Wallet" in the top right. A list opens with the wallets installed in your browser and, below it, a WalletConnect QR code for connecting from your phone.
Click "Connect Wallet" in the header.
Pick your wallet from the list, or scan the QR code if you are on mobile.
Approve the connection in your wallet.
Connecting only shares your public address. It authorises no movement of funds: every transaction is signed separately and shown to you by your wallet.
Practise: connecting a wallet
Simulation
A mock-up to practise on: it never touches your wallet, asks for no signature and moves no money.
Simulation status: Connect Wallet
In the real app this list comes from WalletConnect, so you will see whichever wallets you have installed.
2
Switch to Arc Testnet
If your wallet is on another network, ApexiSwap notices and prompts the switch as soon as you try to trade. Accept it — and if your wallet does not know Arc yet, it will offer to add it with the right parameters already filled in.
Try a swap, or check the network prompt in the header.
Approve "switch network" in your wallet.
If it appears, approve "add network" the first time too.
Decline the network switch and the buttons stay disabled until you are on Arc Testnet. That is not the app failing.
Practise: switching network
Simulation
A mock-up to practise on: it never touches your wallet, asks for no signature and moves no money.
Wrong network
You are on another network. Switch to Arc Testnet to trade.
Simulation status: Wrong network
If the network is not in your wallet yet it gets added with these values. Rejecting is safe — the app just waits.
3
Top up your fee credit
Fees are paid out of a prepaid USDC balance. You top up once and each swap draws from it, with no per-trade payment to sign.
When the balance runs out the app opens the top-up window itself, and tells you how many swaps each amount buys at your current fee.
Open the fee credit window from the header, or wait for it on your first swap.
Pick an amount. Below it you will see how many swaps that covers.
Press "Recargar" — that button is in Spanish — and sign the transaction in your wallet.
If you would rather not leave a balance up front, the same window has the option to pay for just the swap you are making, on-chain.
Practise: topping up credit
Simulation
A mock-up to practise on: it never touches your wallet, asks for no signature and moves no money.
Current balance0.0000 USDC0 swaps left
1 USDC covers ~10 swaps at 0.1 USDC per swap.
Simulation status: 1 USDC covers ~10 swaps at 0.1 USDC per swap.
Same amounts and same swap maths as the real modal, at the fee a wallet starting from zero pays. The button really is in Spanish.
4
Make your first swap
In "Swap" you pick the token you are giving and the one you want, enter an amount, and the app finds the best route across the DEXes available on Arc. The output amount and price impact are worked out before you sign.
Pick the token to send and the token to receive.
Enter the amount to swap.
Check what you will receive and the price impact.
Hit "Swap" and sign in your wallet.
A high price impact triggers a separate confirmation. It means the pool is too thin for the size you are trading and you will get materially less than expected — lower the amount rather than accepting it.
Practise: making a swap
Simulation
A mock-up to practise on: it never touches your wallet, asks for no signature and moves no money.
USDC
You receive
APXS
Rate
1 USDC = 0.4000 APXS
Price impact
0.00%
Fee
0.1 USDC
Simulation status: Enter an amount
Tap the largest amount: price impact spikes and the warning fires, exactly as it does in the app.
No order to these — go to whichever you need. The ones that move funds ask for the same approvals and signatures as a swap.
Pool — provide liquidity
You put two tokens into a pair and get LP tokens representing your share. While they sit there, you earn a cut of the fees from anyone trading that pair.
1In "Pool", find the pair or create it from "Create Pair".
2Open the pair and go to "Add Liquidity".
3Use the percentage slider to set how much of your balance to add.
4Approve each token (one signature per token, first time only) and confirm.
If you are first into a pair, the ratio you deposit sets its opening price. Get that ratio wrong and the pair is mispriced — someone will correct it at your expense.
