Arc Compute Rate · the reference rate for machine commerce

Arc Compute Rate · what machines pay other machines for work

ACR-INFInference ⛓ on-chain · live⛓ on the blockchain · live

0.49773

$/1k tokens · est. (sim) 0.49112

Machine commerce just got its SOFR: it prints its own attack cost.Machines buying from machines finally have an official price: it publishes the cost of faking it.

83×more manipulation-resistant than naive VWAPharder to fake than a plain average

Watch the attack →Watch someone try to cheat it →Open the desk →Place a real trade →

This paper in one minutethe same numbers, the whole story

The problem

Machines now buy AI work from machines with no trustworthy going rate, and a fake one is cheap to stage.

The estimate

ACR reads every payment on the Arc network, noisy and salted with fakes, and works out the honest rate: the big number above.

The print

Once an hour the rate is signed and posted to a public scoreboard on the blockchain, where contracts settle real money against it.

The money

Software pays a fraction of a cent per question, automatically: no accounts, no keys, the payment rides in the web request.

The bill for cheating

Fakes get filtered and extremes get ignored, and every rate ships with the literal dollar cost of bending it 0.01%. Cheating is priced.

The desk

Make a PIN-protected wallet, take 50 cents of our test money, place a real trade against our own bot, and take it back any time.

Every term this paper still uses is explained in the reader’s companion →

Today’s fixing · all three indicesToday’s official rates · all three services

ACR-INF⛓ on-chain⛓ on the blockchain

Inference

0.49773

$/1k tokens

±33.2 bp (95%)bp (honest wiggle room, 95% sure)

est. our estimate 0.49112

Cost to move 1%: To bend this 1%, a cheat must burn $0.33

finality <1sfinal in <1s

ACR-GPU⛓ on-chain⛓ on the blockchain

GPU Compute

0.01083

$/GPU-sec

±63.5 bp (95%)bp (honest wiggle room, 95% sure)

est. our estimate 0.01083

Cost to move 1%: To bend this 1%, a cheat must burn $0.35

finality <1sfinal in <1s

ACR-DATA⛓ on-chain⛓ on the blockchain

Data Delivery

0.00206

$/MB

±64.6 bp (95%)bp (honest wiggle room, 95% sure)

est. our estimate 0.00203

Cost to move 1%: To bend this 1%, a cheat must burn $0.38

finality <1sfinal in <1s

Defensibility · peak error under an identical attackStress test · the same attack, thrown at us and at a plain averageAttack the index →Try to cheat it yourself →

Naive VWAPPlain average9,891 bp

ACR189.7 bp

83×

more resistant than naive VWAP. The attacker burned $148 across 36,000 wash prints trying.sturdier than a plain average. The attacker spent $148 on 36,000 and barely moved this number.

The desk · machine commerce, trading forwardThe trading desk · buying and selling future pricesTrade the curve →See the trading desk →

archived editiona saved copy0.3 contracts opencontracts trading6 traderspeople trading−$0.11 maker P&Lthe dealer’s profit so farsettles pays out Sep 24, 2026 · 12:27 UTC

awaiting fills: the desk is quiet, and fills print here the moment they land on-chainwaiting for trades: the desk is quiet, and trades appear the moment they happen

A cash-settled future on all 3 indices, settling against the same on-chain oracle as the spot rate. The fills above are real.

You can lock in a future price of machine work on all 3 indices. Each contract against the official on-chain rate, and the trades above are real.

The desk trades from your own PIN-secured Circle wallet. It opens as soon as the press answers. See the desk →

You can trade here yourself with a small wallet locked by your PIN. It opens once our server wakes up. See the desk →

Today’s prints · settlement grade

Index	Rate (on-chain)Official rate	CI (bp)Wiggle (bp)	Est. (sim)Our estimate	$ / 1% moveCost to bend 1%	NPayments	ProvenanceWhere it lives
ACR-INF	0.49773	66.5	0.49112	$0.33	400	⛓ on-chain⛓ on the blockchain
ACR-GPU	0.01083	127.1	0.01083	$0.35	524	⛓ on-chain⛓ on the blockchain
ACR-DATA	0.00206	129.1	0.00203	$0.38	441	⛓ on-chain⛓ on the blockchain

Index

Rate (on-chain)Official rate

CI (bp)Wiggle (bp)

Est. (sim)Our estimate

$ / 1% moveCost to bend 1%

NPayments

ProvenanceWhere it lives

ACR-INF

0.49773

66.5

0.49112

$0.33

400

⛓ on-chain⛓ on the blockchain

ACR-GPU

0.01083

127.1

0.01083

$0.35

524

⛓ on-chain⛓ on the blockchain

ACR-DATA

0.00206

129.1

0.00203

$0.38

441

⛓ on-chain⛓ on the blockchain