Meme Traders Rush Arc's New 'Trenches' as Mainnet Debut Tops 1M Transactions

Author: Nancy, PANews

Arc's mainnet has finally launched as scheduled, and on-chain players are rushing to the new "trenches."

Some got in early and reaped big rewards; some moved in and out quickly, fighting for the first wave of liquidity after the launch; some were overwhelmed by the flood of meme coins; and others simply bet on the platform token. However, overall on-chain meme sentiment has been cooling recently. How long can Arc's contrarian frenzy last?

Meme Traders Race for First-Mover Advantage as Mainnet Debut Tops 1M Transactions

Before Arc's mainnet launch, capital was already gearing up.

Arc block explorer data shows that on-chain activity had already picked up significantly before the launch. On Sept. 14 and 15, daily transactions exceeded 400,000, compared to just tens of thousands a few days earlier. During the same period, about 21,000 new addresses were added on-chain, whereas previously daily new addresses numbered only in the hundreds or even fewer.

To grab the "first coins," many players were even willing to pay a hefty premium to get in early, with USDC premiums at one point reaching 80%-100%.

Some who entered even earlier have already seen staggering paper gains. For example, according to on-chain analyst Ai Yi, after Arc's mainnet launched today, address 0xE73…60BF2 had bridged USDC from the Robinhood network to Arc via the Long bridge as early as Sept. 8, then positioned in LONG, BITCOIN, and USDC. Among them, LONG's cost basis was as low as $0.0000136, with a total investment of $487.6, and current unrealized gains have reached $578,000, a return of 118,483%.

According to Lookonchain, another trader bought 12.1 million ARGUS on Arc Chain for only about $1,200, then sold 1.8 million tokens for a profit of about $30,900, while still holding about 10.1 million ARGUS currently worth about $332,000. Data shows the address's cumulative gains on ARGUS are about $361,000, a 302x return.

However, behind the high returns of early positions lies even fiercer on-chain PvP. As large amounts of capital compete for early tokens, some meme coins' market caps have surged rapidly, and price volatility has intensified. Players must not only have good judgment but also quick reflexes. Especially for those who "front-ran" at high premiums, the target's market cap must at least double to cover the premium paid at entry. Of course, some players chose to participate by providing liquidity, trying to profit from early liquidity.

On the day of the mainnet launch, capital inflows accelerated further. Arc block explorer data shows that as of press time, daily transactions on Sept. 16 have surpassed 1.16 million, with 278,000 in the past hour alone. The total number of on-chain addresses is about 216,000, with over 78,000 added today. Currently, the total USDC on the Arc network has exceeded 380 million, accounting for about 0.05% of the total USDC supply.

In the fierce competition sparked by Arc's Launchpad, only three tokens have reached a market cap of $10 million so far: ARGUS, LONG, and TOLLY. Among the top 10 trending tokens tracked by the social trading platform Fomo, only two are from the Arc ecosystem.

However, while meme coin trading has been hot recently, new attack methods have also emerged on chains like Arc, catching even many meme veterans off guard. Multiple traders have warned that some users browsing meme coin display pages were redirected to malicious websites disguised as Cloudflare verification pages. After completing the so-called "verification" as prompted, users' computers may be infected with malware, and their on-chain assets subsequently transferred. One victim claimed to have lost about $600,000.

For meme traders accustomed to chasing early trends, the hotter the market, the more FOMO is amplified, and the more they need to be wary of such disguised attacks. Especially in the early days of a mainnet launch, copycats, phishing links, and fake pages appear densely, and front-running and security risks often rise together. For unverified DEXs, protocols, or third-party pages, users should first verify through official project announcements, official social media, and other channels before interacting on-chain. After all, before chasing the first wave, don't give away your assets.

On-Chain Frenzy Cools as Meme Traders Begin to Retreat

Unlike the hot scene on Arc, meme trading on other chains is clearly cooling.

Dune data shows that on Sept. 4, meme trading volume hit a year-to-date daily peak of about $1.2 billion, then declined steadily and has now dropped to about $520 million. Multiple chains, including Robinhood Chain, Solana, and BNB Chain, have seen varying degrees of decline in trading activity.

Take Robinhood Chain, for example. Although the number of token launches has continued to increase recently, capital enthusiasm has not kept pace. Its daily trading volume is currently about $400 million, less than one-third of its historical peak of $1.5 billion.

Token performance also shows a clear cooling trend. GMGN data shows that most on-chain meme tokens have been in a pullback recently, and popular leading tokens such as PONS, AI, Niu Lai (Bull Comes), MarsCoin, STONK, and ZCAT have not been spared.

This decline in meme heat is partly related to Arc's mainnet launch. As the new chain goes live and quickly attracts traffic, some market attention and on-chain liquidity have been drawn to Arc, affecting capital flows on other chains.

On the other hand, policy and macro uncertainty is also weighing on market sentiment. The policy uncertainty brought by the stalled Clarity Act has, to some extent, affected the short-term risk appetite in the crypto market. Meanwhile, with the Fed's FOMC meeting approaching, a September rate hike is seen as all but certain. In an environment of weakening risk appetite, highly volatile meme assets tend to be more susceptible to shifts in capital sentiment.

As the market cools, even many leading tokens have suffered sharp drawdowns, and some ordinary players have chosen to cut losses and exit, while others are temporarily on the sidelines waiting for the next bottom-fishing opportunity.

Arc's first wave of competition has begun, but as early dividends gradually fade, whether its market heat can be sustained may require more time to observe.