After experiencing rapid growth and dominating the memecoin launchpad sector for several months, Pump.fun is taking another step forward by launching its own token, PUMP. Despite the platform’s bold ambitions to compete with social media giants, the competition is gaining market share…
which may have precipitated the launch of the PUMP cryptocurrency.
Since its launch in early 2024, Pump.fun has enabled anyone to create and trade tokens (usually memecoins) in a matter of seconds. The platform has quickly established itself as one of the fastest-growing companies in the crypto sector, proudly claiming to have “reached $100 million, $300 million, and then $500 million in revenue faster than any other company.”
With the launch of its cryptocurrency under the ticker PUMP, Pump.fun says it wants to go further. Its stated mission is clear: “to build a decentralized social network where creators are instantly monetized.”
Details of the PUMP token sale
The PUMP token will be issued in 1 trillion units, distributed as follows:
- 33% for public sale (ICO), of which 18% has been reserved for private sale;
- 24% for community initiatives;
- 20% for the team;
- 13% for early investors;
- 3% dedicated to live streams on the platform;
- 2.6% for liquidity and exchanges;
- 2% for the foundation.
Each token will be sold—starting Saturday (at 4 p.m. Paris time)—at a price of $0.004 for a theoretical fully diluted valuation (FDV) of $4 billion. All tokens sold will be available on the first day, according to the Pump.fun press release. However, they will not be transferable (and therefore non-exchangeable) for 48 to 72 hours. The ICO will take place directly via the Pump.fun platform, but also on several centralized exchanges such as Kraken, Bybit, Gate, Bitget, MEXC, and Kucoin.
A rushed launch due to competition?
While Pump.fun has reigned supreme for several months on the Solana blockchain’s memecoin launchpads, the momentum has recently shifted.
As the data in the chart below shows, LetsBonk—another memecoin launchpad—has nearly 66% of the market share of tokens launched in the last 24 hours:
Furthermore, this momentum is not limited to tokens launched: LetsBonk also took the lead in terms of volume recorded during the same period, with nearly $100 million, more than 2.4 times that of Pump.fun.
This information is not insignificant. Under pressure from competitors taking market share, Pump.fun may have accelerated its ICO process.
In addition, Pump.fun says it is considering mechanisms to redistribute value to future holders of the PUMP token, including fee reductions on its platform, buyback programs, etc.
This so-called consideration echoes some of the debates that have been raging on social media over the past few days. Indeed, LetsBonk evangelists argue that the platform redistributes value to BONK token holders, notably through a buyback program amounting to 58% of the fees spent on LetsBonk.
