Hack the Future of Finance: Agentic Commerce on Arc with USDC

Introduction

Get ready to build the next generation of financial systems at the Agentic Commerce on Arc hackathon. This hybrid event, powered by Arc and Circle, challenges developers to fuse AI and stablecoin technology to create cutting-edge agentic commerce experiences. The hackathon explores a revolutionary world where AI agents can autonomously coordinate, pay, and transact onchain, opening up new possibilities for dynamic, usage-based commerce.

The event brings together developers, innovators, and entrepreneurs from around the world to push the boundaries of what's possible when artificial intelligence meets blockchain technology. With a total prize pool of $20,000 in USDC and credits, along with support from leading technology partners, this hackathon represents a unique opportunity to shape the future of autonomous financial systems.

Event Details and Structure

The Agentic Commerce on Arc hackathon runs from January 9 – 24, 2026, featuring a hybrid format that combines online collaboration with exclusive in-person experiences. The event is designed to accommodate participants from around the globe while providing selected teams with the opportunity to connect in person in San Francisco.

Event Timeline

The hackathon is structured across multiple phases to maximize collaboration and innovation:

Phase	Dates	Location	Details
Online Building	Jan 9 – 23	Global / Online	Collaborate and build online; all project submissions due by the end of this phase.
On-site Build Day	Jan 23	San Francisco, CA	Exclusive in-person session for selected participants to refine projects and connect with mentors.
Demos & Awards	Jan 24	San Francisco, CA	Live pitching sessions to judges and partners, followed by the official winner announcement.
Kick-off Stream	Jan 9	Online	The official start of the hackathon.

📍 Note: On-site participation in San Francisco is by invitation only, and travel/accommodation expenses are not covered.

The Core Challenge: Autonomous Payments

The mission is to design and ship an application, agent, or developer tool that showcases how autonomous systems can coordinate, pay, and transact onchain using Arc and Circle products. The hackathon explores a world where AI agents can pay for APIs, data, compute, and content in dynamic, usage-based ways.

Arc, the Economic OS for the internet, provides the Layer-1 settlement with USDC as the native gas and value token, offering predictable fees and sub-second finality. This infrastructure enables participants to build truly autonomous systems that can make financial decisions and execute transactions without constant human intervention.

Prizes and Recognition

The hackathon offers an impressive prize pool totaling $20,000 in USDC & Credits, recognizing excellence across multiple categories and tracks. Winners will receive substantial rewards and recognition for their innovative solutions.

Prize Categories

Prize Category	1st Place	2nd Place	3rd Place
Hackathon Winners (On-site)	$3,000 in USDC	$1,500 in USDC	$1,000 in USDC
Hackathon Winners (Online)	$2,500 in USDC	$1,500 in USDC	N/A
Best Product Design	$500 in USDC	N/A	N/A
Best Use of Gemini	$5,000 in GCP credits	$3,000 in GCP credits	$2,000 in GCP credits

These prizes recognize not only technical excellence but also innovation in design, user experience, and creative application of partner technologies. The substantial rewards reflect the hackathon's commitment to supporting the development of groundbreaking solutions.

Technologies and Challenge Tracks

Participants have access to cutting-edge technologies and can choose from multiple challenge tracks to focus their submissions. The hackathon requires building on Arc for settlement and using USDC for all transfers and interactions, ensuring consistency while allowing for creative innovation.

Required and Recommended Technologies

Participants are required to build on Arc for settlement and use USDC for all transfers and interactions. The recommended technology stack includes:

• Arc: The EVM-compatible Layer-1 settlement layer that provides the foundation for autonomous commerce transactions.

• USDC: The stablecoin used as the native gas token on Arc, offering stability and predictability for financial transactions.

• Circle Wallets: Recommended for primary wallet infrastructure, providing secure and reliable wallet management.

• Circle Gateway, Bridge Kit, and x402 facilitator: Additional Circle infrastructure components that enable seamless commerce flows and cross-chain interactions.

These technologies work together to create a comprehensive platform for building autonomous financial systems that can operate independently while maintaining security and reliability.

Google AI Challenge: Best Use of Gemini

The hackathon is supported by Google & Google DeepMind, offering a dedicated challenge and $10,000 in Google Cloud Platform (GCP) credits for the best use of Gemini models and Google AI Studio. This partnership provides participants with access to cutting-edge AI capabilities.

Your project should:

• Use Gemini (via Google AI Studio or Gemini API) for reasoning, chat, or multimodal understanding.

• Run agent-driven or automated workflows that make decisions based on input, data, or context.

• Coordinate and settle value on Arc with USDC using Circle infrastructure.

This challenge encourages participants to leverage Google's advanced AI models to create intelligent, autonomous systems that can understand context, make decisions, and execute financial transactions seamlessly.

Challenge Tracks

Participants can focus their submissions in one of these key areas, each representing a different aspect of autonomous commerce:

• Best Gateway-Based Micropayments Integration: Create usage-based payment flows that enable seamless microtransactions for APIs, data, compute, and content.

• Best Trustless AI Agent: Build autonomous agents with onchain treasury logic and identity, demonstrating how AI can manage financial resources independently.

• Best Autonomous Commerce Application: Develop compelling buyer or seller applications powered by onchain payments, showcasing real-world use cases for agentic commerce.

• Best Dev Tools: Create SDKs, libraries, or infrastructure to accelerate building autonomous commerce experiences, helping other developers build similar solutions.

• Best App Builder Application: Build the best App Builder–generated application integrating Circle infrastructure, demonstrating the power of no-code and low-code solutions.

• Best Product Design: Best UI/UX integration for onchain agentic payments, focusing on user experience and accessibility in autonomous financial systems.

These tracks allow participants to showcase their strengths while contributing to different aspects of the autonomous commerce ecosystem.

Summary

The Agentic Commerce on Arc hackathon represents a unique opportunity to shape the future of autonomous financial systems. By combining AI technology with blockchain infrastructure, participants will explore new frontiers in how systems can coordinate, pay, and transact independently. With substantial prizes, cutting-edge technologies, and support from leading partners like Google, Arc, and Circle, this event provides everything needed to build groundbreaking solutions.

The hackathon's hybrid format ensures accessibility for developers worldwide while offering exclusive in-person experiences for selected participants. Whether you're building autonomous agents, creating developer tools, or designing innovative commerce applications, this event offers the platform, resources, and recognition to turn your ideas into reality.

Secure your spot now and join developers worldwide to define the future of agentic commerce! Register here to be part of this transformative event.