The most absurd scene of 2026 wasn’t a technology glitch, or hackers stealing coins—it was a “breakdown triggered by looks.”
Circle launched Arc, its stablecoin-dedicated L1 chain, and the lineup supporting it was practically star-studded—major Wall Street institutions like BlackRock and Visa had endorsed it. It was supposed to be a shining moment for the “top stablecoin chain.” But during the live broadcast of the mainnet launch, when the camera panned to a South Asian developer/partner, the background looked rather rudimentary as well. In an instant, the community’s excitement flipped to panic.
What happened next was nothing short of the most magical chain reaction in the crypto world:
People started pricing everything based on the stereotype of “Indian team = high rug-pull risk.” Ecosystem MEME coins and platform tokens were dumped indiscriminately, and some tokens fell 40%–75% within just 12 hours. Someone even posted mocking the whole situation as an “Indian appearance,” and the FUD spread like wildfire across the room. #ARC
Circle launched Arc, its stablecoin-dedicated L1 chain, and the lineup supporting it was practically star-studded—major Wall Street institutions like BlackRock and Visa had endorsed it. It was supposed to be a shining moment for the “top stablecoin chain.” But during the live broadcast of the mainnet launch, when the camera panned to a South Asian developer/partner, the background looked rather rudimentary as well. In an instant, the community’s excitement flipped to panic.
What happened next was nothing short of the most magical chain reaction in the crypto world:
People started pricing everything based on the stereotype of “Indian team = high rug-pull risk.” Ecosystem MEME coins and platform tokens were dumped indiscriminately, and some tokens fell 40%–75% within just 12 hours. Someone even posted mocking the whole situation as an “Indian appearance,” and the FUD spread like wildfire across the room. #ARC
