Uniswap's Pools launchpad overtakes Pons on Robinhood Chain token launches

Uniswap Labs' Pools launchpad moved ahead of Pons on token launches on Robinhood Chain and has continued gaining traction as debate intensifies over whether the product undercuts third-party launchpads already built on Uniswap's infrastructure. The company has defended the product after critics argued the launchpad was designed to extract value from users in the same way some memecoin venues have been accused of doing. Hayden Adams rejected that criticism, saying Uniswap is betting users will prefer "quality tech + a level playing field" over "highly extractive, shady platforms." He also said the 0.25% fee tier used by Pools should continue to work as the pools grow while extracting far less from traders than the roughly 1% fee charged by some rivals. Pools charges no separate launchpad fee and creates a Uniswap v4 pool for each token with a 0.25% liquidity-provider fee that is automatically compounded into locked liquidity, while creators can optionally take 0.05% of that fee stream. Uniswap had first launched an aggregator called Uniswap Launches that grouped token launchpads such as Pons, Flap and Bankr into one interface on Robinhood Chain before later releasing its own lower-cost rival launchpad. Tom Wan, head of data at Entropy Advisors, said Trade Pools looks like a strategic push to drive more usage to Uniswap v4 because many launchpads still graduate tokens into v3 while Trade Pools routes directly into v4. He said Uniswap v4 volume rose 2.4x from about $100 million before Trade Pools to more than $237 million after launch. Broader chain data also showed Robinhood Chain recording nearly $600 million in launchpad volume last week, ahead of BNB Chain's roughly $400 million, though Solana remained far larger at about $3 billion, supported by launchpads including PumpFun and Bonkfun. UNI rose 5% to $4.19 after the debut, though the token remained below levels reached during July's rebound tied partly to Robinhood Chain activity and the activation of protocol fee switches.