How creators actually get paid
Last updated September 28, 2026
Two ways to get paid for a collection you publish — paid from what fans actually spend claiming AICs, not a flat fee for showing up. Pick the one that fits how you use the studio.
credits, instant, by default — no enrollment needed
real cash, if you enroll in the Rewards Program
By default, every creator earns 50% of the credits a fan spends claiming an AIC from their collection — credited to your balance instantly, usable right away in the studio, and they never expire. Enroll in the Rewards Program and that switches to 30% in real dollars instead, paid out to a bank account through Stripe once your balance clears a 30-day hold and a $20 minimum. You can't run both at once on the same collection — enrolling moves every future claim from credits to cash. On top of either mode, every AIC you created also earns you a standing 10% credit royalty each time it resells on the marketplace, for as long as it keeps changing hands.
1.How the two modes work
Credits mode (the default — no enrollment needed). Every time a fan claims an AIC from your collection, 50% of the credits they spend on that claim land in your balance immediately. The other 50% is retained by the platform — it covers what it actually costs us to generate the piece, plus our margin, and it's tracked on your account so it's never a mystery where it went. Credits mode has no hold, no minimum, and no payout paperwork: it's the fastest way to see a return on a collection, and the credits are spendable the instant they land, on anything in the studio.
Cash mode (enroll in the Rewards Program). Once you enroll and connect a Stripe payout account, every future claim on your collection instead earns you 30% of the sale in real dollars — see how payouts work below for the hold and minimum. This suits a creator who wants real income out of the platform rather than more generation credits.
Resale royalty (always credits, either mode). Separately from a claim, whenever an AIC you created is resold on the marketplace, you earn a 10% credit royalty on that sale — the seller keeps 90%. This applies every time it resells, not just the first time, and it's paid in credits regardless of whether you're enrolled in cash mode.
All of this is separate from the one-time 500-credit fee to start a collection and the $5 creator application fee — those cover review and setup, not your ongoing rewards.
2.What's live today Updated
| Piece | Status |
|---|---|
| 50% credits reward on every claim, by default | Live |
| 10% credit royalty on every marketplace resale | Live |
| Enrolling to switch a collection to 30% cash | Live |
| Rewards tracked in your creator dashboard | Live |
| Cashing rewards out to a real bank account (Stripe) | Live |
| Automated payouts once you're enrolled and connected | Live |
| USDC payout option | Not planned currently |
Credits mode needs nothing from you — it's on from your first claim. Cash payouts are also live: once you enroll and connect a payout account, your 30% share accrues automatically and becomes withdrawable on its own.
3.How cash payouts work
This section applies only once you've enrolled and switched a collection to cash mode. Credits-mode rewards need none of this — they land in your balance instantly and are spendable right away.
Once enrolled, your creator rewards live in a ledger separate from ordinary studio credits — studio credits stay prepaid and non-cashable exactly as they are today; creator rewards are tracked as real dollar value (1 credit = 1 cent) and are the part that becomes withdrawable.
Payouts run through Stripe Connect — the same infrastructure countless marketplaces and creator platforms use to pay people. You connect a Stripe Express account once (Stripe's own secure page collects your tax form and bank details; we never see or store them), and future payouts route there automatically.
Two things have to be true before an earning is payable:
- 30-day hold — each earning becomes payable 30 days after the claim it came from.
- $20 minimum (2,000 payable credits) — your payable balance needs to reach this before a payout can go out.
4.Getting paid
Once you're enrolled and your Stripe account is verified, there's nothing manual left on your end. Payable earnings accumulate automatically; when you're above the $20 minimum, an admin releases the payout and Stripe transfers straight to your connected bank account. You can check exactly what's payable now vs. still holding on your creator settings page at any time.
5.Taxes and KYC
Getting paid as a creator means you're an independent contractor being compensated for your work, not an employee — the same relationship YouTube, Twitch, and Patreon have with their creators. That means:
- You owe tax on everything you're paid, regardless of amount. The $600/year figure people have heard of is only the threshold at which we're required to file a 1099-NEC with the IRS on your behalf for US creators — it is not a threshold below which your earnings are tax-free. Even a single dollar of creator income is taxable income you're responsible for reporting.
- Identity verification (KYC) is required before your first payout, done entirely on Stripe's own onboarding page — this is a legal requirement for any platform paying people money, not something specific to us. It means confirming your name, address, and tax ID (SSN/EIN in the US via a W-9, or the W-8BEN equivalent if you're outside the US).
- We don't give tax advice. Talk to a tax professional in your own country about how creator income is taxed there — the rules vary a lot, and we're not qualified to tell you what applies to your specific situation.
6.Creators outside the US
Stripe Connect supports creators in dozens of countries today, each with the right local tax-form collection (a W-8BEN instead of a W-9, local bank details instead of US routing/account numbers) built into the same onboarding flow. Pick your country on the enrollment form and Stripe adapts the onboarding to it automatically.
If your country genuinely isn't supported by Stripe Connect, enrollment will tell you and you can contact support — there's no separate crypto/USDC fallback at this time.
7.Creators under 18
Stripe's payout accounts require the account holder to be an adult, so if you're under 18 you can still enroll and keep earning, but a parent or guardian has to hold the actual Stripe payout account on your behalf. Your credits keep accruing normally while that's sorted out — nothing is lost by enrolling before that's arranged.
8.Print-on-demand for claimed AICs
A strong idea worth building: once a fan has claimed a specific AIC, they'd be able to order it as a real physical print, trading card, or poster — tied back to their claim record as proof it's the genuine, numbered piece and not a random reprint. This is scoped specifically to claimed AICs (something a real fan actually owns), not bulk-printing an entire unclaimed collection, which keeps it aligned with the "claim something real" idea instead of turning into a print shop for AI art in general.
This would likely work through an existing print-on-demand fulfillment service (order placed, they print and ship, we never touch inventory) rather than us handling printing and shipping ourselves. Not built yet — flagged here as a genuinely good next feature once the core claim and payout systems are solid.
9.FAQ
Do I need a wallet or crypto to earn rewards? No. Credits-mode rewards land in your studio balance automatically, and if you're enrolled in cash mode, payouts are ordinary bank transfers via Stripe. No wallet involved either way.
Is 50% credits or 30% cash better for me? Depends on what you want out of it. Credits mode pays instantly, has no minimum and no hold, and the credits are usable right away for more generations — a good fit if you're actively using the studio. Cash mode pays a lower percentage but in real dollars, with a 30-day hold and a $20 minimum before a payout goes out — a better fit if you want actual income rather than more credits.
Is there a minimum to cash out (cash mode only)? Yes — $20 (2,000 payable credits), and each earning has a 30-day hold from the claim it came from before it counts toward that. Credits mode has no minimum; every claim pays out instantly.
Do I earn anything when my AICs are resold? Yes — a 10% credit royalty on every resale, for as long as the piece keeps changing hands, in either mode.
What if I stop being a creator? Rewards you've already earned are yours; we'll always let you withdraw what you're owed even if you stop publishing new collections.
Questions about this program: arcaistudio.com@gmail.com