Arcus, launched by dYdX Labs with Robinhood Crypto, combines tokenized stock trading and perpetuals on Robinhood Chain.
Tokens Secure a $USDG Loan
Previously, Arcus perpetuals required margin in $USDG, the protocol's settlement stablecoin. Under the new system, traders move eligible holdings into their perpetuals accounts without converting them. Deposited $USDG is used first; any additional margin need automatically creates a $USDG loan secured by the tokens.
According to Arcus's documentation, the loans back cross-margin positions only, where positions share account collateral. Borrowed $USDG cannot be withdrawn or moved to an isolated position, and variable interest accrues while a loan is outstanding.
All ten assets have a 50% initial loan-to-value ratio: each dollar of collateral supports up to fifty cents of borrowing for margin. That is borrowing capacity, not the maximum size of a leveraged perpetual position.
For a hedge, a trader can hold SPY tokens and use them to back a short SPY perpetual. A basis trade similarly pairs a token holding with an opposing perpetual position, usually to seek funding payments. The change removes the need to supply separate $USDG margin, but the loan adds interest costs, and a hedge may not fully offset losses.
Deposit Caps and Liquidation
Arcus's live lending parameters showed non-$USDG deposit limits of $20,000 per account and $2 million platform-wide, alongside a $10,000 per-account borrowing cap.
Its collateral feed also showed platform-wide supply caps of 10,000 token units for each eligible stock or ETF token and 1,000 WETH. These token-specific caps sit alongside the aggregate dollar limits.
All ten assets carried a 60% maintenance LTV in the feed. On the maintenance side, Arcus compares maintenance-margin needs plus losses against that collateral-based capacity. Breaching maintenance capacity or the per-account loan limit triggers liquidation, according to its documentation.
Liquidation cancels open orders and closes perpetual positions first. Collateral is sold only to cover any remaining shortfall, with the live parameters crediting those sales at 99% of mark price. Falling collateral values and losses on perpetuals can both push an account toward liquidation.
The platform's terms bar perpetual trading by users in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom, among other restricted jurisdictions.
Closing a position does not erase debt from realized losses, fees or interest. Any remaining loan must be repaid through $USDG deposits, later trading profits or collateral sales.
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