JANUS
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FAQ & Support

Janus Protocol - Frequently Asked Questions#

General Questions#

Q: What is Janus?#

A: Janus is an automated funding rate arbitrage vault on Arc L1. You deposit USDC or EURC, and our keeper bot earns yield by opening market-neutral positions across perpetual exchanges. You own vault tokens (jUSDC/jEURC, ERC-4626 standard) and can withdraw anytime after a 2-day settlement period.

Q: How much can I earn?#

A: Depends on market conditions. Historical average: 24–32% APY. Janus takes a 15% performance fee on profits only. Your net is approximately 20–27% APY after fees. Example: $10,000 deposit → ~$2,000–2,700 annual earnings.

Q: Who governs Janus?#

A: Janus is governed by a 5-of-9 multisig with Arc core team members, security experts, and community representatives. No single person can unilaterally move funds. Governance is transitioning toward community control as the protocol matures.

How It Works#

Q: What is funding rate arbitrage?#

A: Perpetual futures have periodic payments ("funding rates") between long and short traders. When rates differ across exchanges, you can:

  1. Go LONG on the low-rate exchange
  2. Go SHORT on the high-rate exchange
  3. Collect the spread (market-neutral)
  4. Close when the spread disappears

Example: Protocol A pays +0.05%, Protocol B pays +0.02% → you earn +0.03% per 8 hours = ~32% APY.

Q: Why is the strategy market-neutral?#

A: Your positions offset each other. If BTC goes up 10%, your long makes +$1K and your short loses -$1K (net $0). You only make money from the funding rate spread, not from price direction.

Q: How often do I earn?#

A: Funding rates are paid every 8 hours (3× daily). Your share of yield compounds in real-time. You earn continuously.

Q: Can I lose money?#

A: In normal conditions: No (market-neutral strategy). In extreme conditions: Possibly, if the smart contract is exploited. The insurance fund helps cover this. Only deposit what you can afford to lose.

Depositing & Withdrawing#

Q: How do I deposit?#

A:

  1. Go to janushq.xyz
  2. Click "Connect Wallet"
  3. Go to the Deposit tab
  4. Enter your amount (no minimum)
  5. Click "Approve USDC" and confirm in your wallet
  6. Click "Deposit" and confirm in your wallet
  7. Wait 1–2 minutes for blockchain confirmation
  8. You now own jUSDC/jEURC vault tokens earning yield

Q: What is USDC and where do I get it?#

A: USDC is a stablecoin (1 USDC = $1 USD). On Arc Testnet, you can claim free test tokens from the Circle Faucet: select Arc Testnet, paste your wallet address, and click Send.

Q: How do I withdraw?#

A:

  1. Go to the Withdraw tab
  2. Enter your shares amount (or click MAX)
  3. Click "Request Withdrawal" and confirm in your wallet
  4. Wait 2 days (settlement period)
  5. After 2 days, click "Complete Withdrawal" and confirm
  6. USDC/EURC transfers back to your wallet

Q: Why the 2-day withdrawal delay?#

A: Prevents bank runs. If many users withdraw simultaneously, the keeper bot needs time to unwind positions safely to protect everyone's funds.

Q: Can I withdraw before 2 days are up?#

A: No. This is a deliberate safety mechanism. Plan your withdrawals accordingly.

Q: What if the vault is paused?#

A: You can still withdraw, but processing may take longer. Emergency pauses only happen if an exploit is detected. Your funds remain in the smart contract at all times.

Fees & Returns#

Q: What fees does Janus take?#

A: Two fees:

  • 15% performance fee: only on profits (if you earn $1,000, you keep $850)
  • 1% management fee: annual fee to cover operations (~0.083% per month)

Q: Is the APY guaranteed?#

A: No. Funding rates are market-dependent and change constantly. Historical range: 24–50%. Minimum possible: 0% if rates are flat. We show live APY on the dashboard, updated every 8 hours.

Safety & Security#

Q: Is my money insured?#

A: Partially. We maintain an insurance fund (funded by 5% of performance fees) that covers smart contract exploits up to the fund balance. This is not a guarantee of full coverage as DeFi is experimental.

Q: What if Janus is hacked?#

A:

  1. Insurance fund pays out (up to fund balance)
  2. Users can withdraw remaining funds
  3. Multisig investigates and patches
  4. Community can vote on compensation if there is a shortfall

Q: Has Janus been audited?#

A: Internal audit has been completed. A professional third-party audit is in progress. Results will be published publicly when complete.

Q: What makes Janus safer than other vaults?#

A: (1) 5-of-9 multisig to ensure no single point of failure, (2) 24-hour timelock on all parameter changes, (3) Insurance fund, (4) On-chain audit trail for full transparency, and (5) Emergency pause functionality.

Governance & Decentralization#

Q: How is Janus governed?#

A: Currently via a 5-of-9 multisig (Arc core team + security experts + community members). Governance will progressively decentralize toward community token-holder control as the protocol grows.

Q: What if I disagree with a governance decision?#

A: You can propose alternatives in our Discord governance channel, or simply withdraw your funds (2-day settlement). You are never locked in.

Technical Questions#

Q: What blockchain is Janus on?#

A: Arc L1 (Chain ID: 5042002 on testnet). Arc is an institutional EVM-compatible blockchain with cheap gas and fast finality.

Q: What wallet can I use?#

A: Any EVM-compatible wallet, including MetaMask, Rabby, Phantom, OKX Wallet, Coinbase Wallet, WalletConnect, Ledger, or Trezor.

Q: How much does gas cost?#

A: Arc gas fees are approximately $0.01–0.05 per transaction, which is far cheaper than Ethereum mainnet.

Q: How do I verify my balance on-chain?#

A: Go to testnet.arcscan.app, search your wallet address, and check your jUSDC/jEURC token balance. Or call balanceOf(your_address) on the JanusVault contract, then convertToAssets(shares) to see your USDC value.

Q: Can I use Janus with leverage?#

A: No. You deposit $10K and own $10K worth of vault shares. No borrowing, no leverage. Fully collateralized.

Troubleshooting#

Problem: Wallet shows "Network not found"#

Solution:

  1. Open your wallet → Network dropdown → Add Network
  2. Add Arc Testnet:
  3. Save and switch to Arc Testnet

Problem: "Insufficient balance" when depositing#

Check:

  1. You have enough USDC (not ETH) in your wallet
  2. You have a small amount of ETH for gas (~$0.05)
  3. Try a smaller deposit amount

Problem: Approval goes through but deposit doesn't#

Steps:

  1. Confirm the approval transaction shows "Confirmed" in your wallet history
  2. Check testnet.arcscan.app for your transaction hash
  3. Wait 2 minutes for the network to finish processing
  4. Try submitting the deposit again

Problem: Can't click "Complete Withdrawal"#

Causes:

  1. The 2-day timer hasn't elapsed yet (check the countdown)
  2. The vault is paused (check Governance tab)
  3. Browser cache issues: try a hard refresh or incognito mode

Problem: Dashboard shows wrong balance#

Steps:

  1. Hard refresh the page (Cmd+Shift+R)
  2. Verify on-chain at testnet.arcscan.app
  3. Expected balance = jUSDC/jEURC shares × current share price

Problem: APY looks wrong#

Context: APY updates every 8 hours with live funding rates. Fluctuations are normal. Check the Market Monitor tab for current funding rate data. If you believe there is a bug, report it in Discord.

Advanced Questions#

Q: Can I integrate Janus into my protocol?#

A: Yes, Janus is ERC-4626 composable. You can call deposit/withdraw functions directly, or use jUSDC/jEURC as collateral in other protocols. Contact partnerships@janushq.xyz.

Q: What happens when funding rates are negative?#

A: The strategy pauses and the keeper bot waits for rates to flip positive. Your USDC stays safe in the vault but does not earn yield during that period.

Q: What are the tax implications?#

A: Consult a tax professional in your jurisdiction. Generally, yield is treated as taxable income. Gains or losses on exit may be taxable events. Janus is not financial or tax advice.

Q: Does Janus comply with regulations?#

A: Janus is a non-custodial DeFi protocol. Your funds are always in a smart contract wallet, not held by any company. We actively monitor regulatory developments and build with compliance in mind.

Support#

Last Updated: June 2026

This FAQ is for informational purposes only. Not financial advice. Crypto is experimental. Only deposit what you can afford to lose.