BlackRock and Visa Back Circle's Arc, but Meme Coin Traders Eye Launch

Circle's Arc public mainnet goes live on Wednesday, backed by 11 founding validators from traditional finance. Speculators are already gearing up for a meme coin wave at debut.

The scenario echoes Robinhood Chain, which went live in July, offering tokenized assets before speculative activity took over. Circle positioned Arc for payments and settlement, yet the same speculative crowd is circling once more.

Robinhood Chain Set the Precedent

Robinhood's Arbitrum-based Layer 2 network launched on July 1, centered on real-world assets (RWA). Retail traders had different intentions.

Within days, meme coins dominated. Decentralized exchange (DEX) volume reached a record $563.9 million on July 8, according to Dune data. Traders minted 16,639 tokens on the chain in a single day.

Activity dipped in August before picking up again. The chain saw $1.06 billion in daily DEX volume on August 29, marking its first billion-dollar day. Volume also hit a new all-time high of $3.7 billion earlier this month.

Why Meme Coin Traders Eye a Payments Chain

Arc has attracted similar interest. It is a Layer 1 network created by Circle, the issuer of USD Coin (USDC). Gas fees are paid in USDC instead of a volatile native asset, and the chain is built for payments, foreign exchange, and tokenized securities.

The company raised $222 million in an Arc token presale at a $3 billion valuation. The validator lineup includes BlackRock, Visa, Mastercard, Galaxy, SBI Group, and Standard Chartered.

Speculators have spent recent weeks scouting Arc launchpads and pre-mainnet tokens. Their bet is that the chain's opening week mirrors the Robinhood Chain trading frenzy.

“if you've been active on CT, you've probably already seen people calling it the next Robinhood trenches. Maybe they're right,” StarPlatinum wrote.

Circle is pitching Arc as institutional infrastructure. USDC currently holds a $74.2 billion market cap, and the first week of trading will reveal whether bankers or degens arrive first.