Yesterday marked the launch of Circle’s Arc mainnet, a Layer 1 network that aims to serve financial markets, real-time money movement, and AI agents. Despite its institutional focus, the initial activity on the network was dominated by memecoin launchpads.
According to onchain analyst adam_tehc, Arc saw $410.8 million in DEX volume and 7,763,670 transactions on its first day, with memecoin launchpads accounting for a significant portion of the trading volume.
Key Players in the Launchpad Space
One launchpad, arguspad.io, stood out by generating nearly half of the total trading volume. Other notable launchpads included Minara.fun, tollylabs.com, and redardex.pro. In total, nineteen launchpads were active on the network.
The launchpads also saw a large number of tokens being created, with over 97K tokens deployed across the Arc ecosystem. Arguspad.io alone accounted for 83,751 tokens, surpassing the daily token creation record of pump.fun.
Comparing Arc to Other Networks
Arc’s debut trading volume of $410 million far exceeded that of Robinhood Chain, another prominent network, which recorded $568,630 on its first day. The rapid adoption of Arc can be attributed to its existing infrastructure and partnerships.
While Arc’s initial focus was on institutional use cases, the dominance of memecoin trading mirrors the early days of Robinhood Chain. It will be interesting to see if Arc follows a similar trajectory in terms of asset adoption.
Looking Beyond Launchpad Activity
Non-launchpad trading on Arc reached approximately $74.6 million on its first day, showcasing the network’s potential for USD Coin settlement, tokenized collateral, StableFX currency swaps, and institutional payment services. The sustainability of this volume will be key to Arc’s long-term success.
As memecoin trading typically fades after an initial surge, Arc’s ability to retain non-launchpad volume will be crucial in determining its future trajectory. September 16th marked a significant milestone for the network, but the real test lies in its ongoing adoption and usage.