EDITORIAL METHODOLOGY
Where the numbers come from
Every fee, market count and volume figure on ArcusGuide traces to a public source, carries the date it was read, and gets rechecked when Arcus changes something. This page sets out the sources, how disagreements between Arcus's own pages are handled, and how to report a number that has gone stale.
Primary sources
Numbers come from the most direct source available, in this order:
- The Arcus public API. No login is needed for public reads.
api.arcus.xyz/v1/feetiersreturns the live maker and taker rate for each volume tier, in parts per million (225 ppm is 0.0225%).api.arcus.xyz/v1/marketsreturns every perpetual market with its status, maximum leverage, open interest, 24-hour volume and funding rate. Volume thresholds in the API are in billionths of a dollar, and the guides convert them. - Arcus's own documentation. The developer docs and their changelog, the help center, the Arcus blog, and the Interface Terms and Protocol Terms. These cover product rules: who can trade, how access works, how margin and funding behave.
- DefiLlama for cross-venue volume and open interest, so Arcus and its competitors are measured the same way.
- Competitors' official fee pages for every comparison figure. Secondhand summaries are not used for fees.
Arcus's self-reported traction, such as total volume, trader counts or total value locked, is quoted with the date and attributed to Arcus. It is never presented as independently verified.
Dated snapshots
A fee or market count without a date is a guess. Static figures on this site carry the day they were read, written next to the number or in the caption under a table, along with the endpoint or page they came from. The launch set of guides was checked against the live API on October 2, 2026.
Pages that pull live data, such as the market pages and the fee calculator, read the Arcus API in your browser and show the current value. When a live figure and a dated figure on the same page disagree, the live one is newer.
When Arcus's own pages disagree
Arcus has shipped changes faster than its help center has been updated, so its pages sometimes contradict each other. The rule here: the newer, more specific source wins (a live API response over a dated blog post, a dated blog post over an undated help article), and the guide names the conflict when it matters to a reader. These are the ones on record as of October 2, 2026:
| Topic | Older or stale page says | Newer source says | Guides follow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Invite codes | Help center: "There's no invite-code system." | Arcus blog, Oct 1, 2026: invite codes are live and replace the manual whitelist. | The blog post (newer, and the app shows invite codes). |
| Isolated margin | Help center: cross-only at launch, isolated "planned". | API changelog and blog: isolated margin live since Sep 9-10, 2026. | The changelog. |
| Perp fee schedule | Docs fees page: tiers "publish closer to launch". | Live /v1/feetiers endpoint and the help center tier table. | The live API, dated. |
| Spot network fees | Help center: network fees apply to all spot trades, paid in ETH. | Blog and docs: Arcus covers network fees; most swaps are gasless. | Neither outright. Guides say most swaps are gasless and to keep a little ETH for some actions. |
| Referral code renames | Help center and blog: codes cannot be renamed. | API: a rename endpoint exists since Sep 24, 2026. | Both are reported. Renaming retires the old code and breaks its links. |
| Liquidation fee | Help center: no fee charged to traders on liquidation. | API changelog mentions a liquidation penalty included in the fee field. | Reported as unclear until Arcus settles it. |
Sources: Arcus help center, developer docs and changelog, and blog, as read October 2, 2026. Arcus may have updated a page since.
Update cadence
Every guide shows a Last Updated date. Pages with time-sensitive numbers also show a Last Verified date, the last time someone checked the figures against the source, which is often more recent than the last edit.
- Fees, access (invite codes, waitlist) and regional availability: checked at least monthly, and the same week Arcus announces a change.
- Comparisons and ecosystem pages: checked quarterly, or sooner when a competitor changes its fees.
- Beta pricing: Arcus says it will announce the end of the beta in advance. When it does, every page quoting beta rates is updated.
What the guides will not do
- Invent a number, or fill a gap with an estimate presented as fact. If a figure cannot be sourced, it is left out.
- State why Arcus made a design choice. Guides describe what a feature does and quote public statements.
- Draw legal, regulatory or tax conclusions. Guides describe what the terms say.
- Explain how to get around a regional restriction. Arcus prohibits VPN use, and so does this site.
Limitations
Fees, funding rates and market lists change. Between verification dates a figure can drift, and Arcus is still in beta. Before a decision that matters, check the live number on Arcus itself or follow the source link in the guide.
Reporting an error
Send the page URL, the figure, and the source you are comparing against to @Concept211 on X or through the contact page. Confirmed errors are corrected and the page's date is updated.
Editorial independence
ArcusGuide earns a share of trading fees from readers who join Arcus with code ARCUSGUIDE (the disclaimer has the full disclosure). Arcus does not review or approve any page, and nothing here is paid placement. The referral does not change which figures get published or how venues are compared: comparison tables keep the rows where Arcus loses, and when a competitor is cheaper, the page says so.