Key takeaways
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One-click minting, bonding-curve “graduation” and locked LPs concentrated liquidity, pushing Pump.fun’s share to 75%-80% at its peak.
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Launches and fees are cyclical. After plunging 80% from January highs, activity snapped back by late August.
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Rivals (LetsBonk, HeavenDEX, Raydium LaunchLab) can flip share in the short term with fees or incentives, but network effects often pull activity back.
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Security incidents and US class-action litigation (including RICO claims) are the biggest overhangs on durability.
Pump.fun is a Solana-native launchpad that makes launching a token as easy as a few clicks.
New coins start on a bonding-curve contract, where around 800 million tokens are sold in sequence. Once that supply is bought out, the token “graduates,” and trading automatically shifts to an automated market maker (AMM). Today, that’s Pump.fun’s own decentralized exchange (DEX), PumpSwap (earlier launches migrated to Raydium).
For creators, the cost is minimal. There’s no fee to mint, and graduation carries only a small, fixed charge of 0.015 Solana (SOL) deducted from the token’s liquidity rather than as a separate payment.
After graduation, PumpSwap burns the liquidity provider (LP) tokens linked to the trading pair, effectively locking liquidity so it can’t be withdrawn manually. Funds can only move through regular trading activity. This design standardizes early price discovery for new memecoins while sharply reducing traditional rug-pull risks.
Did you know? Only a tiny fraction of Pump.fun tokens ever “graduate.” In July and August 2025, the graduation rate hovered around 0.7%-0.8% of launches.
How Pump.fun captured 80% of Solana’s memecoin launches
Pump.fun’s dominance came from pairing ultra-low-friction token creation with a standardized path to liquidity.
By routing new tokens through a bonding-curve graduation into an AMM, Pump.fun made early price discovery more predictable and reduced one of the main ways creators could rug-pull. As the Solana meme cycle picked up, that design translated into dominance: By mid-August 2025, Pump.fun recaptured roughly 73%-74% of launchpad activity over a seven-day period.
The lead wasn’t uncontested. In July, challenger LetsBonk briefly flipped Pump.fun on volume and revenue before momentum swung back (proof that deployers migrate fast to wherever execution and liquidity look best).
Pump.fun reinforced its dominance with two strategic policy shifts: Aggressive, revenue-funded buybacks of the Pump.fun (PUMP) token (in some weeks consuming over 90% of revenue) and a revamped creator-payout scheme under “Project Ascend.” Public disclosures indicate multimillion-dollar weekly repurchases and eight-figure creator claims, which likely helped attract deployers and recapture momentum.
Throughout 2025, external trackers consistently showed Pump.fun holding around a 75%-80% share of “graduated” Solana launchpad tokens during market upswings — a level it returned to in August after the July dip.
Did you know? Solana’s fees stayed near pennies (or even lower) during periods of mania. In Q2 2025, average fees fell to about $0.01, while the median hovered around $0.001, despite a January spike during the Official Trump (TRUMP) token frenzy.
A quick timeline of share and revenues
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Jan. 24-26, 2025: Pump.fun hits an all-time daily fee record of around $15.4 million as Solana’s meme season reaches its height.
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Late January-Feb. 26, 2025: Daily launches slide from roughly 1,200/day (Jan. 23-24) to about 200/day by Feb. 26, marking an 80%+ drop based on Dune-tracked cohorts.
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May 16-17, 2024: An insider exploit of around $1.9 million forces a temporary pause; service resumes after fixes and a detailed post-mortem.
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July 2025: New rival LetsBonk briefly tops Pump.fun in 24-hour revenue and market share — the first meaningful flip since Pump.fun’s breakout.
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Aug. 8, 2025: Pump.fun launches the “Glass Full Foundation” to support selected listings during a revenue slump.
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Aug 11-21, 2025: Market share bounces back to around 74% on a seven-day basis, hitting a $13.5-million record week and multibillion weekly volumes. Some trackers show intraday highs near 90% as rivals fade.
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Aug. 20, 2025: Cumulative fees surpass $800 million, underscoring the scale of Pump.fun’s model despite volatility.
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September 2025: Under Project Ascend, creators claim over $16 million, while the team continues aggressive buybacks — widely credited with helping restore traction.
Pump.fun’s dominance is cyclical but resilient. When sentiment weakens, launches and fees drop sharply. When incentives and liquidity improve, its share tends to rebound — often landing in the 70%-80% range on seven-day metrics.
Rivals and the “anti-Pump” pitch
Competitors have tried to compete on economics and liquidity. As noted earlier, LetsBonk briefly stole the spotlight in July, with some trackers showing it ahead in market share before Pump.fun regained the lead in August. Coverage described it as Pump.fun “fending off” a credible challenge.
Raydium LaunchLab positioned itself as the in-house alternative after Pump.fun stopped graduating pools to Raydium and introduced PumpSwap. LaunchLab leveraged Raydium’s native liquidity infrastructure — migrating new tokens directly into Raydium AMM pools — to attract creators and algorithmic traders seeking deep, established liquidity.
A newer challenger, Heaven (HeavenDEX), introduced a “give-it-back” model that burns 100% of platform revenues and, for a stretch, handled around 15% of daily launch activity. It positioned itself as the strongest rival to Pump.fun’s model during the summer share battles.
Ultimately, switching costs are low. Deployers move to whichever venue offers the best mix of fees, incentives and post-graduation liquidity. When rivals cut fees or boost rewards, market share can shift quickly.
Security, legal risk and market cycles
Pump.fun has faced its share of challenges.
Security incidents
Pump.fun has had notable security incidents. In May 2024, a former employee exploited privileged access to withdraw about $1.9 million, prompting a temporary trading halt and contract redeployment, with the team stating that the contracts remained safe. On Feb. 26, 2025, its official X account was hijacked to promote a fake “PUMP” token — a reminder of social-engineering vulnerabilities in memecoin platforms.
Legal overhang
Several US civil actions allege that Pump.fun facilitated the sale of unregistered securities. A consolidated amended complaint filed in July 2025 added RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) claims and new defendants. The outcomes remain uncertain, but the litigation could reshape how launchpads approach listings, disclosures and revenue programs.
Cyclical demand
As discussed, launch counts and fee revenues reflect retail risk appetite. After a strong start to 2025, July revenue dropped to about $25 million, roughly 80% below January’s peak, before activity picked up later in the summer. Interest in memecoins naturally varies over time.
Reputation risk
Scrutiny of memecoins as pump-and-dump plays hasn’t faded. In one case, a Wired reporter’s hacked X account was used to create a Pump.fun token and cash out within minutes — adding pressure on platforms to improve account security, tighten verification and discourage opportunistic launches.
Did you know? One compliance firm claimed around 98%-99% of Pump.fun tokens fit pump-and-dump/rug-pull patterns — an assessment Pump.fun disputed.
Can Pump.fun keep its edge?
If the flywheel holds
Pump.fun’s August rebound to roughly three-quarters of new Solana launches suggests the core loop — low friction, standardized “graduation” liquidity and trader concentration — is still intact. If buybacks and creator incentives keep reinforcing that cycle, dominance could persist even through slower phases.
If the grip slips
July showed how fast momentum can shift when a rival undercuts fees or attracts deployer bots. The ongoing litigation adds another layer of uncertainty and could trigger changes to listings, disclosures or revenue programs.
Key metrics to watch
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Launchpad share (weekly): Track Pump.fun’s share versus rivals across “graduated” tokens and trading volumes. A steady 65%-80% range suggests its moat is holding; consistent drops point to erosion.
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Buyback and incentive spend: Monitor weekly buybacks and creator payouts. Sustained and visible support often precedes recoveries in market share.
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Fees and graduation policy: Any adjustment to creation or graduation fees — or how liquidity is handled — can quickly alter deployer behavior.
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Solana backdrop: Keep an eye on DEX volume and total value locked (TVL). Thinner liquidity reduces post-graduation depth and trader stickiness.
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Legal milestones: Follow developments in the consolidated class action. Adverse rulings could limit growth levers or trigger operational changes.
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.
Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/how-pump-fun-captured-80-of-solana-memecoins-and-can-it-last?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound
