The most expensive trade is the one you never made. Not the loss you took, the position you didn't open because something stood between your conviction and the order. For most of DeFi's history, that gap had a name. The wallet.

Before you could place a single trade, there was a whole setup to get through: create a wallet, write down a seed phrase, install a wallet browser extension, and move money in from somewhere else. Holding your own digital assets came at a cost, not in fees, but in hassle, paid up front, before you'd traded at all.

The Gate Decides Who Trades

That barrier did something quietly: it decided who got to trade. A setup like that only lets in people who already know crypto inside out, and turns almost everyone else away, a strange filter for a platform built to open up markets people have wanted access to their whole lives.

Arcus × Privy Partnership

Today, Arcus is announcing its partnership with Privy, the technology that powers sign up and wallets across the platform. New users sign in with email or Apple and get a self-custodial wallet generated, with the private key never exposed to Arcus, to Privy, or anyone in between.

Already have a crypto wallet? Connect MetaMask, Ledger, WalletConnect, and hundreds of others through the same setup. Either way, you end up in the same place: you hold your own keys.

What this Means for You

The tradeoff disappears. What's left is the part that matters:

• Sign in, don't set up: Using email or Apple, with no seed phrase and no extension between you and your first trade.

  
  

• Self-custody by default: Your keys are generated in a secure setting, and never exposed to Arcus or Privy; your funds move only when you authorize it.

  
  

• No seed phrase to lose: Recover access by signing back in with the same email or Apple ID.

  
  

• Bring your own wallet: Connect MetaMask, Ledger, WalletConnect, and hundreds more; same custody, your keys.

  
  

• Switch if you like: To a self-custodial wallet like MetaMask, whenever you want; your account isn't tied to Privy.

Why Privy

Privy builds the wallet technology behind crypto apps that want to be easy to use without asking people to give up control of their funds. Its wallets are created in a secure enclave, with private keys that never touch the application layer.

One simple sign-in handles email, social logins, and existing wallets alike, so the same setup works for seasoned crypto traders and for people arriving from a regular brokerage app. It's already trusted across crypto, payments, and consumer apps at the scale high-volume sign-in demands.

"Every serious venue eventually learns that its real competitor isn't another exchange, it's the sign-up screen. We're listing markets people have wanted access to their whole lives; the last thing standing between them and a position shouldn't be a seed phrase."
- Eddie Zhang, CEO, Arcus

“Self-custody has historically come with a steep learning curve, limiting access to those already familiar with crypto. Privy makes it easy for anyone to trade with the simplicity found in traditional financial platforms, without compromising ownership. We’re excited to support Arcus as it expands access to global markets and brings a new generation of traders onchain.” - Max Segall, COO at Privy.

Spot trading is live. Trade Stock Tokens now at app.arcus.xyz, and join the waitlist there for Equity Perpetuals.

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Arcus is a blockchain-based smart contract protocol that permits self-custodial peer-to-peer trading of Stock Tokens, cryptoassets and perpetual futures. Arcus is not a regulated financial services provider, and it is not available in the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom and other restricted jurisdictions.

Stock Tokens are tokenised securities that provide economic exposure to a relevant underlying equity instrument or ETP through a contractual claim against the Issuer for a cash Redemption. Stock Tokens involve risks not present, or not present to the same extent, in traditional stock ownership, including private-key loss or compromise, limited redemption access, liquidity constraints, price or tracking divergences from the underlying, and uncertain or evolving regulatory treatment.

Trading Stock Tokens, cryptoassets or perpetual futures is risky and involves risks of loss, particularly when using leverage. Do your own research.

This content is provided as a general tool for users to learn about or interact with Arcus on their initiative, with no endorsement or recommendation of any trading activities. Users or potential users of this content should not regard it as involving any form of recommendation, invitation or inducement to deal in Stock Tokens, cryptoassets or perpetual futures. Nothing herein should be used as legal, financial, tax, or any other form of advice.

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