Arcium
Encrypted computation network on Solana that uses multi-party computation for confidential apps, DeFi and AI.
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Arcium key facts
| Category | Developer infrastructure |
|---|---|
| Chains | Solana |
| Platforms | SDK, Web |
| Token | ARX (Solana and BNB Smart Chain) |
| Pricing | Per computation unit, price voted by node operators each epoch, plus optional priority fee |
| Chains | Solana |
| US availability | Available: terms restrict only sanctioned jurisdictions |
ARX token
- Price
- $0.1981 -16.7% 24h
- Market cap
- $41.4M
- Fully diluted value
- $198.1M
- 30-day change
- -26.4%
Market data: CoinGecko, updated Nov 8, 2026. Educational content, not financial advice.
What is Arcium?
Arcium is an encrypted computation network that uses multi-party computation (MPC) so apps can compute on data no single node can see. It coordinates on Solana; developers write encrypted instructions with Arcis and a TypeScript client. Node operators vote the price per computation unit each epoch; the ARX token covers fees, staking and governance.
How Arcium works
An Arcium app is an MXE (MPC eXecution Environment): a Solana program, its computation definitions and key material, bound to one Cluster of Arx nodes.
A client encrypts inputs with the TypeScript library and calls the MXE program, which queues the job in the Cluster's onchain mempool through the Arcium program. The Arx nodes fetch it, compute on secret shares, and return the result through a callback that the Arcium program verifies before invoking your program. Solana holds configuration, queues, staking and payments; key shares and computation stay offchain.
Clusters run Cerberus, a dishonest-majority, detect-and-abort MPC protocol: inputs stay private as long as at least one node in the Cluster is honest, and a detected fault aborts the job instead of returning a corrupted result. Circuits are written in Arcis, a Rust framework whose circuit shape is fixed at compile time, so Vec, String, HashMap, while loops and early returns are not supported. Callback output must fit Solana's 1,232-byte transaction limit, or the computation fails with OutputTooLarge.
How to start with Arcium
- You need Rust, Solana CLI 3.1.10, Anchor 1.0.2, Yarn and Docker.
- On Mac or Linux, one install script sets up arcup, the Arcium CLI and Arx node software; prebuilt targets exist for x86 Linux and Apple Silicon, and Windows users work in WSL2.
- Start with the Hello World guide, which builds an encrypted circuit, a Solana program and TypeScript tests, then deploy your MXE to Solana with a chosen Cluster.
- Arcium is live on Solana mainnet.
- Node operators can register their own Arx node; Arcium recommends 32 GB+ RAM, 12+ cores and 1 Gbit/s bandwidth.
Arcium fees and limits
A computation costs the Cluster's base price per computation unit times the units in its definition, plus an optional priority price per unit, a callback priority cost, and a fixed callback submission reserve that scales with the Cluster's node count. Node operators vote each epoch on the next epoch's base price, one vote per node, and abstaining keeps the current price. Revenue is split among Cluster members, Recovery Peers and the protocol fee pool.
Risks to know before using Arcium
- Privacy rests on the assumption that at least one node in your Cluster is honest; if every node colluded, inputs could be reconstructed.
- Liveness depends on nodes having enough preprocessing material and staying online, and queued jobs expire after 180 slots if not executed.
- Since base prices are set by operator vote each epoch, costs can change between epochs.
- Arcium publishes coordinated releases and supports upgrades from v0.11 or newer, so older deployments need migration.
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Arcium pros and cons
- Inputs stay hidden from any single node
- Works with Anchor-compatible Solana programs
- Cluster-level fee markets keep unrelated jobs from competing
- Arcis circuits cannot use Vec, String or while loops
- Computation prices change each epoch by operator vote
- Queued computations expire after 180 slots
Arcium FAQ
What is Arcium?
Arcium is an encrypted computation network that uses multi-party computation (MPC) so apps can compute on data no single node can see. It coordinates on Solana; developers write encrypted instructions with Arcis and a TypeScript client. Node operators vote the price per computation unit each epoch; the ARX token covers fees, staking and governance.
Which chains does Arcium support?
Solana.
How much does Arcium cost?
Per computation unit, price voted by node operators each epoch, plus optional priority fee, according to Arcium’s own page (checked Sep 26, 2026).
Does Arcium have a token?
Yes, ARX. Its market cap was $41.4M on CoinGecko on Nov 8, 2026. Educational content, not financial advice.
Is Arcium available in the US?
Available: terms restrict only sanctioned jurisdictions, according to Arcium’s own page (checked Sep 26, 2026).
Sources
- Arcium: official site
- Arcium: $ARX Token
- Arcium: Docs, Pricing and incentives
- Arcium: Docs, Overview
- Arcium: Terms & Conditions
- Arcium: Docs index
- Arcium: Docs, Architecture overview
- Arcium: Docs, Computation lifecycle
- Arcium: Docs, MPC protocols
- Arcium: Docs, Current limitations
- Arcium: Docs, Installation overview
- Arcium: Docs, Node setup
- CoinGecko
How this page works
Sources: Arcium: official site, Arcium: $ARX Token, Arcium: Docs, Pricing and incentives. Data as of Sep 26, 2026.
Not affiliated with any project listed. Educational content, not financial advice.