Power Transition: The Rise and Fall of the Solana On-chain Memecoin Launchpad

"The king is dead, long live the king." This ancient proclamation reveals an eternal truth: power never belongs to anyone; it flows like water, always seeking new vessels. In the world of cryptocurrency, this ancient ritual is being played out on the memecoin Launchpad landscape on Solana.

The once-dominant Pump.fun controlled 88% of the market share just a month ago, but now it has only 13% left. The new challenger Let'sBONK has captured 86% of the market. This is not only another manifestation of volatility in the crypto world but also a typical case of empire collapse: when the crucial moat of attention is neglected, even the greatest first-mover advantage can disappear in an instant.

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The Rise and Fall of the Pump.fun Empire

Pump.fun was launched in January 2024 by three young people in their twenties, and its simple operation has completely changed the issuance logic of meme coins. Users only need to upload an image, name it, and click a few times to issue a coin, costing less than $2, without the need for programming.

This satisfies an underlying impulse to transform "worthless" into "valuable." By January 2025, Pump.fun generated over $458 million in revenue, with thousands of new coins launched daily, peaking at daily revenues exceeding $7 million. It has not only become infrastructure but also gained control over cultural discourse.

However, the tragedy began with its "innovation" feature: live streaming. To gain attention, some users started to engage in extreme behaviors during the live streams, including simulating self-harm and threatening suicide. In the most severe case, a minor threatened family members with a gun in front of the camera.

Pump.fun was forced to shut down its live streaming feature, but its reputation has been ruined. Weekly revenue plummeted by 66%, and competitors seized the opportunity. Facing pressure, Pump.fun decided to save itself by issuing a token (ICO).

The ICO is technically considered a success, raising $500 million from over 10,000 wallets within 12 minutes, plus $700 million in private placement. However, a deeper analysis reveals issues: over 200 wallets hit the $1 million cap, with the top 340 buyers accounting for 60% of the share. All tokens are fully unlocked, with only short-term transfer restrictions.

The token price initially rose by 75%, but the enthusiasm quickly cooled, and within weeks, it fell by 60%, showing a "death spiral" trend. There are also issues with the tokenomics, with 67% held by the project party, and the allocation timeline is unclear.

Despite users generating nearly $750 million for the platform, there are no immediate community rewards. At the same time, private investors sold $160 million worth of tokens on the exchange, causing significant selling pressure.

The final blow was when co-founder Alon Cohen publicly announced the cancellation of the long-promised airdrop. The token price plummeted by 15% within 24 hours. This is not only about the airdrop itself but also a fatal blow to the trust of the community.

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The Rise of Bonk

When Pump.fun keeps making mistakes, Let'sBONK silently builds everything that the competitors lack: transparency, community orientation, and clear communication.

Currently, Let'sBONK's daily revenue reaches 1.3 million USD, which is 5 times that of Pump.fun's 254,000 USD. On an annualized basis, Let'sBONK's monthly revenue is as high as 434.92 million USD, while Pump.fun is 267.25 million USD.

From nearly zero in May to a stable breakthrough of one million dollars in daily revenue in July, Let'sBONK's revenue is steadily rising. Pump.fun's revenue, on the other hand, plummeted from a peak of over 7 million dollars in January to the level it is at in September 2024.

After the ICO, the market value of the PUMP token dropped by 60%, while BONK remained relatively stable at 2.1 billion dollars. Let'sBONK uses 1% of its weekly revenue to buy back BONK, supporting this ecological token that predates the platform's inception.

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Attention Economy

Pump.fun once seized the opportunity through network effects. Developers issue tokens there because traders are there, and traders are there because the hottest memecoins are launched there. This flywheel effect seems unstoppable.

But attention is fragile. Unlike the moats of traditional enterprises, once trust collapses, users' mindset can disintegrate in an instant. One live broadcast incident gave users reason to try alternative platforms. Let'sBONK immediately became the "clean" choice.

This is reminiscent of Myspace losing to Facebook. Myspace had features and scale, but lost the cultural narrative. Facebook became the platform for "real users", while Myspace fell into the synonym for spam and chaos.

Realizing the crisis, Pump.fun launched a counterattack. They increased the token buyback ratio from 25% of daily revenue to 100%. Although approximately $254,000 is used for buybacks daily, far exceeding Let'sBONK's $13,000 (1% of revenue), it also means that all revenue is used for buybacks rather than platform growth.

They also launched a 30-day incentive program that rewards PUMP tokens based on trading activity. However, initial feedback indicates that these strategies have not reversed the situation.

The problem lies not in tactics but at the strategic level. No amount of buybacks or incentives can restore lost trust, nor can it refocus the attention of users who have already shifted their interests.

The rewards of Pump.fun are solely based on trading volume, while Let'sBONK has built an ecological reward system tied to user interests. The BONK reward program allows users to stake for 6 to 12 months to proportionally receive revenue sharing from ecological products. The longer the staking period, the higher the multiplier. The better the product performance, the more returns users receive.

Users can earn "Bonk Points" through trading, purchasing, or issuing tokens, which can be exchanged for physical goods or benefits in the future. The gamified growth experience makes users feel they are participating in a larger mission.

When Pump.fun was still exploring ICOs, Let'sBONK had already provided a structured reward system for core users. In the crypto world, capital always flows to better incentive mechanisms.

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A Larger Landscape

In traditional industries, market leaders may hold their position for decades. In the digital market, however, the switching costs for users are close to zero, and dominant positions can disappear in just a few months.

An investigation revealed that Pump.fun co-founder Dylan Kerler was involved in a "pump and dump" scheme. In an industry built on trust and memes, a collapse of reputation equates to a survival crisis.

The success of Let'sBONK lies not in building fundamentally better products, but in entering the market at a time when Pump.fun's reputation was most vulnerable. In the attention economy, timing is often more critical than technology.

The winner-takes-all logic of network effects begins to reverse. After users migrate to Let'sBONK, the flywheel that once propelled Pump.fun also starts to reverse. Developers follow traders, and traders chase the hottest projects, accelerating the platform's decline.

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Does Pump.fun still have a chance to turn around? Although their market share has significantly shrunk, they are not yet at the point of exiting. The $1.2 billion funding has bought them time and experimental capital. Their platform has supported hundreds of thousands of project launches without crashing, which is particularly important in a high-pressure environment. Even with the decline in market share, they still generate over $250,000 in revenue daily, approaching $100 million annually, plus a massive capital reserve, so their foundation is still solid.

As a category creator, they have simplified the token issuance to a click operation, winning lasting brand recognition. The first-mover advantage will not easily disappear.

Recent actions also show that they have not given up: Pump.fun 2.0 has introduced real-time data updates and one-click trading; the repurchase ratio has increased to 100%; user incentives have been launched. These indicate that they are fighting back rather than surrendering.

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The most likely scenario is market fragmentation. There are rarely any permanent monopolists in the crypto space. Let'sBONK may become a major platform, dominating the number of tokens issued and revenue, while Pump.fun transforms into a niche platform with loyal users, securing a place through its interface, features, or ecosystem.

To truly turn the tide, Pump.fun must not only solve technical issues or rely on cash incentives to retain users but also rebuild trust and reclaim cultural high ground. This means achieving a transparent and community-centered token economic structure, and it may even require a complete overhaul of the leadership to thoroughly distance itself from past controversies.

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When a ruler loses legitimacy, no amount of wealth or ceremony can restore dignity. Only new leadership can earn the respect of the old. Sometimes, in order to preserve the kingdom, the crown must be passed to someone new.

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