Circle’s Arc blockchain overtaken by memecoins on launch day

Circle’s new public blockchain, Arc, launched with a roster of institutional validators including BlackRock, Visa, Mastercard and DTCC. Within its first 24 hours the network processed 7.83 million transactions, but the activity was largely unrelated to the payments use case for which the chain was built.

Payments activity remains minimal

Only about 624 000 USDC transfers have been recorded on Arc since launch, according to the chain’s Blockscout explorer. While 400 000 new accounts were created and more than 73 000 smart contracts deployed, average transaction fees rose to roughly three cents, four times the pre‑launch level.

Memecoins dominate early volume

Day‑one decentralized‑exchange (DEX) volume reached roughly $82 million, far below the $878 million recorded on Robinhood Chain during its own memecoin surge in July. The top‑trading tokens on Arc—TOLLY, LONG and COOL—have each fallen between 56 % and 77 % from their launch peaks.

Traders on X noted that “every coin is already down like 50‑80 %” and described the situation as “cooked.” The largest token by market value on Arc is ARGUS at $16 million, followed by Circle‑issued assets cirBTC and EURC.

Controversy over promotional content

Circle’s VP of product for Arc, Rachel Mayer, posted an AI‑generated image promoting the memecoin DUKE, which was framed as a reference to CEO Jeremy Allaire’s dog. The post garnered about 1 million views and prompted accusations that Circle was shilling tokens to bootstrap activity on its network.

Technical performance remains solid

Despite the market sentiment, Arc’s infrastructure is operating as intended, with half‑second block times and no congestion. DeFi protocols such as Aave and Morpho are live on the chain.