ARX provides the economic and governance mechanics that keep the confidential supercomputer running as intended. Its design follows a single principle: the token exists to serve the network and its contributors.
Arcium is building the confidential supercomputer, a network that lets anyone compute on data without ever exposing it. The ARX token provides the necessary economic and governance mechanics to ensure the network runs as intended.
Before the ARX token is live, Arcium is already the fastest growing and most used confidential compute network in the world. ARX is the catalyst for the network's next stage of scale, and its economic design follows a single guiding principle: the token exists to serve the network and its contributors. Demand for confidential computation drives usage of the network, and the participants who secure and operate the network receive the network fees described below for performing that work.
The following outlines the token design, its role in the network, and the distribution of ARX to key stakeholders. This document makes no representation regarding ARX's market price or any expectation of financial return.
ARX has a fixed supply of 1,000,000,000 tokens, with no inflation mechanism, no dynamic minting, and no dilution over time. ARX is required to access and operate the network's compute resources; its role is functional within the protocol, focusing on two core functions:
ARX is the collateral operators put up in order to provide compute to the network. The more compute a node offers, the more ARX must be staked behind it, so the token is the gateway to participating in the network's supply side.
ARX is the instrument of decision-making across the network's two governance tracks, with multipliers that reward holders who lock for the long term.
The fees customers pay for computation are not paid in ARX. They are paid in the chain's native token, such as SOL on Solana. Keeping fees in the native asset lets ARX stay focused on its actual job rather than being spent and recycled as a medium of exchange.
Computation fees are paid by users of the network for confidential computation services and distributed to the participants who operate and maintain network infrastructure. For each computation, fees are allocated as follows:
to the Node Operators performing the computation. Operators may apply a commission to fees attributable to third-party delegations.
to Recovery Nodes that maintain secret shares and enable MXE migration.
to the Network Treasury, which supports ongoing protocol development, ecosystem growth, network resilience, and other operational needs.
ARX may be delegated to Node Operators to increase the capacity an operator can offer. Any fees an operator chooses to share with delegators are determined by that operator's own commission terms; the protocol does not promise, set, or guarantee any return to delegators.
Risk Disclosure Delegated ARX is subject to slashing and may be partially or fully lost if the associated Node misbehaves or fails protocol requirements. Delegation is not a deposit, is not principal-protected, and carries risk of loss.
As Arcium expands to support additional blockchain ecosystems, computation fees may be collected across multiple supported assets, reflecting the broader scope of network activity and infrastructure supported by the protocol.
The mechanics behind all of this are designed to keep the network decentralized and self-balancing, without requiring most holders or computation customers to think about them day to day.
Nodes group into clusters, and each cluster operates at a tier that sets how much it can compute in parallel. A node joins a cluster by staking ARX up to that tier's requirement. Anyone can form a cluster, but joining one isn't an automatic right: the cluster's authority decides which nodes are admitted, and each admitted node still has to meet the tier's stake threshold. Computation customers stay free to move their work to whichever cluster best meets their needs, which keeps operators competitive on both price and performance.
Within each cluster, the right to order and process computations rotates between nodes in proportion to their total stake, and whichever node is performing that work receives the computation fees for it. Fee income therefore tracks the volume of computation a node actually performs, and operators compete to attract delegation in order to expand the capacity they can offer. A dedicated set of Recovery Nodes stakes ARX as collateral to hold the secret shares for a given MXE, receiving a share of fees as compensation, and a portion of every fee accrues to a treasury that keeps the network resilient over time.
Governance runs on two tracks. A Technical track, voted on by node operators, governs core protocol parameters like staking thresholds and fee splits. A Community track, open to tokenholders who lock their ARX, governs everything non-technical — and rewards longer lockups with greater voting power. Both tracks go live later this year.
Arcium's token distribution is intended to create alignment across a range of key stakeholders, putting the network in the best possible position to deliver on its vision. Allocations and vesting schedules reflect the commitment the core team and contributors have to expanding Arcium's application and market share.
At launch, the circulating supply reflects the initial focus around ecosystem and community stewardship. Together, the Ecosystem & R&D, Community Initiatives, and Community Sale allocations account for close to 41% of supply — more than any single investor group commands. Combined with the 5.26% Validator allocation, over 46% of all ARX is directed toward the network itself and the participants who secure it. Altogether, more than 50% of the total ARX supply is allocated to the network's builders, users, community members, validators, and other ecosystem participants.
At launch, 20.88% of supply (approximately 208.8 million ARX) is unlocked and in circulation. Part of this is freely circulating from day one through the Community Sale and Community Initiatives. The remainder comes from the day-one portions of the Ecosystem, R&D and Community allocations, which are unlocked but stewarded toward growing the network.
The remaining 791.2 million ARX (~79.12%) is locked at launch, subject to defined unlock and vesting schedules designed to ensure long-term alignment with the success of the network. Each investor and contributor pool is subject to a twelve-month cliff before any tokens unlock, followed by extended linear vesting. The full initial supply is anticipated to be unlocked roughly four and a half years after launch.
Allocated to participants of our CoinList community sale, giving community members the opportunity to access and use ARX within the network. This allocation is fully liquid, as we intentionally did not want to impose vesting restrictions on community participants.
Allocated to angel investors across our funding rounds, including participants from Echo — over 100 founders from across the blockchain industry, alongside hundreds of builders, operators and long-standing community members who supported Arcium from its earliest stages.
Allocated to our earliest believers who supported Arcium long before confidential computing became a major category. Many of these investors have been with us for nearly four years, backing the team when the vision was far from proven. The vesting schedule reflects the conviction and patience these supporters have demonstrated over many years.
Allocated to the employees, founders, and advisors who have built Arcium over many years. Through years of research, thousands of engineering hours, and multiple breakthroughs in applied cryptography, the team has transformed an ambitious vision into the leading confidential computing network in the industry. The longer vesting schedule keeps the people who built Arcium aligned with its long-term success.
Allocated to protocol development, research, ecosystem growth, grants, strategic partnerships, developer support, and future product initiatives. A portion becomes available at launch to support immediate ecosystem growth and healthy liquidity, while the majority vests over an extended period to keep funding innovation and community initiatives for years to come.
Allocated to validators and node operators securing and operating Arcium's permissionless MPC network. The vesting schedule ensures long-term alignment between network operators and the health, security, and growth of the protocol.
Allocated to long-term community growth, ecosystem participation, incentive programs, ambassador initiatives, events, and educational programs. A portion becomes available early to support initial community activities, while the remainder vests over time to reward long-term contributors and ensure sustainable community growth well beyond TGE.
In many ways, ARX is the network expressed as an asset: the mechanism through which compute capacity is secured, decisions are made, and the value created is shared with the people who keep the network running. It isn't meant to sit apart from the product but to extend it — every additional computation, every new builder, every cluster that comes online deepens the role the token plays.
This has always been the goal. Arcium's focus is product-first, and before the ARX token is even live, the network is already the fastest growing and most used confidential compute network in the world. ARX is what lets that momentum continue, giving the network a way to scale securely, permissionlessly, and without limit.
This document is for informational purposes only and makes no representation regarding ARX's market price or any expectation of financial return.
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Operate an Arx node and join a Cluster, or stake $ARX to secure the network's confidential compute and earn protocol rewards.
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