Author: Gandalf, Techub News
Introduction
Uniswap took 66% of the transaction fees on the Robinhood Chain, but in the launchpad business, it was overshadowed by a native project: its own Pools launched on August 6 generated fees that were over a hundred times less than those of PONS. On September 4, Uniswap Labs chose to directly acquire PONS "for long-term alignment"—PONS responded by hitting a historic high, with UNI rising 9.2% on the same day. This article reviews the complete game from direct competition to capital investment and the value capture shift it reveals.
Key Points
- Uniswap's territory: 66% of transaction fees, tokenized stock trading volume over $1 billion, daily trading volume near $2 billion
- Gap in the issuance period: Pools launched on August 6 were challenged, yet daily fees were suppressed by PONS by over a hundred times
- September 4 purchase of PONS: Unrevealed quantity and price, PONS stated “purchased for long-term alignment”
- Market reaction: PONS +17.5% reached a new high of $0.5242, market cap over $500 million; UNI +9.2%
- Insight: In the meme ecosystem, first-mover advantage and community consensus are stronger than technological moats; value capture is shifting from trading to issuance
On September 4, 2026, Uniswap Labs bought PONS—a token launch platform running on the Robinhood Chain and directly competing with its own products. The background of this transaction is a month-long failed attempt to compete.
Uniswap secures the economic big share on this chain
First, let's clarify Uniswap's position on this chain. When the mainnet launched on July 2, Uniswap simultaneously deployed and launched an AI plugin. Since then, it has almost monopolized trading on this chain: by July 21, it generated a total of $18 million in LP fees; on August 22, the tokenized stock trading volume on this chain surpassed $1 billion for the first time; statistics from September 3 indicated that in August, out of nearly $18 billion in trading volume on this chain, Uniswap accounted for 66% of the fees; as of September 4, Uniswap's daily trading volume on this chain had approached $2 billion.
Conversely, the Robinhood Chain has also become the core growth engine for Uniswap—excluding Ethereum, the Robinhood Chain accounts for 13% of Uniswap's total locked value, second only to Base's 41%.
But it failed to grab the issuance business
The only gap is the token launch platform. The value capture point of memes is not in trading but in issuance—whoever controls the launchpad gains the fees from every new coin's birth.
On August 6, 2026, Uniswap launched its own token launch platform Pools on the Robinhood Chain, directly targeting this business. The result was a complete defeat: PONS achieved a daily fee of $5.95 million, and according to crypto.news, this figure surpassed Uniswap's own Pools by over a hundred times.
If you can’t beat them, buy them
On September 4, Uniswap Labs acquired PONS. The official details about the quantity, price, and exact time were not disclosed; PONS indicated that Uniswap Labs "purchased $PONS for long-term alignment," claiming it deepens the relationship between the two.
The market reacted strongly: PONS surged 17.5% to a historic high of about $0.5242, with its market cap breaking $500 million. UNI also rose 9.2%, as the market combined the implications of this transaction with Uniswap's improved revenue performance and significant whale accumulation.
This is not an acquisition of the entire project but a purchase of its tokens to establish vested interest—when unable to win with the product, engage in the opponent's growth through the balance sheet.
Image source: crypto.news (September 4, 2026)
What this transaction signifies
First, in the meme ecosystem, the moat provided by being first to market and community consensus is stronger than the technological advantages of the protocol. Uniswap, despite having the strongest AMM technology and brand in the industry, was still breached in the launchpad business by a native project.
Second, the value capture on the Robinhood Chain is shifting upstream. While Uniswap captures 66% of the trading fees, PONS takes the fees from the issuance phase—and the latter has a higher unit economic benefit.
Third, this also explains why Robinhood itself entered the market to buy CASHCAT. When the main activities of a chain revolve around memes, the chain's operators, the largest DEX, and all institutions keen on carving out a piece will ultimately hold meme assets in some form. Every participant in this chain is being redefined by the market they create.
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