Pump.fun Explained: The Launchpad That Changed Memecoins
Pump.fun, launched January 19, 2024 on Solana, lets anyone create a token for under $2 with no presale, trade it on a price curve and have it move to a decentralized exchange once it passes a market-cap threshold. More than 6 million coins had launched on it as of January 2025, and most never gained traction.
Before Pump.fun, creating a memecoin took technical knowledge and money for liquidity. After it, anyone could do it in a minute. That single change explains why there are now so many memecoins and why choosing among them has become the harder skill.
What it is
Pump.fun is a launchpad on Solana. It was launched on January 19, 2024 by Noah Tweedale, Alon Cohen and Dylan Kerler. Users create a token, trade it on the site, and if the token attracts enough buyers it "graduates" to a regular decentralized exchange (Raydium is the one named in sources). According to Bloomberg as cited by Wikipedia, tokens use a fair-launch approach: all tokens are minted at once and there are no presales.
How the model works
- Create. Name, ticker, image. It costs less than $2.
- Trade on a curve. The price follows a formula that rises as people buy. See the bonding curve explained.
- Graduate. At a market cap of about $90,000 according to the source, the token moves to a standard pool, for which the platform charges 1.5 SOL.
- Trade freely. From then on it trades like any other token.
Fees and scale
| Item | Figure |
|---|---|
| Swap fee | 1% on all trades |
| Graduation fee | 1.5 SOL |
| Estimated fees, first half of 2024 | About $60 million |
| Tokens created by July 2024 | More than 1 million |
| Tokens created by January 2025 (per Wired) | More than 6 million |
| Total revenue since launch | Nearly $800 million (date not given in the source) |
The business model is simple and does not depend on any coin going up. A launchpad earns from volume in both directions. That is a good thing to remember when promotions say a coin is "about to graduate".
The PUMP token
On July 12, 2025, Pump.fun ran a public sale of its own PUMP token that raised $600 million in 12 minutes, and private sales added roughly $700 million, for a total of about $1.3 billion according to Wikipedia. In November 2025 the platform converted a large amount of its holdings, reported at about $465.5 million, into USDC, as the token fell more than 25%. The sources differ on some figures, so treat these as approximate.
Legal and regulatory attention
- December 2024: UK users were banned after a warning from the Financial Conduct Authority about operating without authorization.
- January 2025: an investor filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of New York over the PNUT token, alleging the platform acted as an unregistered securities exchange.
- A class action is ongoing, with the court reviewing a large volume of internal chats.
- Livestreaming was suspended in November 2024 after backlash and returned in April 2025.
These are allegations and proceedings, not outcomes. They show that easy token creation attracted both users and regulators.
What it means for traders
- Most launches fail. The source states that most tokens never reach the traction needed to move to a standard exchange. See lifespan statistics.
- Early does not mean safe. Bots and creators buy first. See sniper bots and MEV.
- Fees add up. A 1% fee each way costs about 2% round trip, and more in thin pools. See trade math.
- Attention is the scarce thing. Anyone can create a coin, so the work shifts to filtering. That is exactly what a screener is for.
The same model on Elysium
Elysium's launchpads, including Ascend, Boxa, Kleos and ElysPump, use versions of the same idea on Kinetiq's Hyperliquid layer 2. Our launchpad comparison sets them side by side, and the FOMO guide explains how the Pump.fun pattern is arriving.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Pump.fun (figures vary by source; treat as approximate)
Numbers and dates were checked on November 11, 2026 and can change. Nothing here is financial advice.
FAQ
When did Pump.fun launch?
January 19, 2024 on Solana, by Noah Tweedale, Alon Cohen and Dylan Kerler.
How much does it cost to create a coin on Pump.fun?
Less than $2 according to the sources, with a 1% swap fee on trades and a 1.5 SOL fee when a token graduates.
How many coins have launched on Pump.fun?
More than 6 million as of January 2025 according to Wired, as cited by Wikipedia.
Does a launchpad profit when a coin goes down?
Yes. Launchpads earn fees on trading volume in both directions, so they earn whether the price rises or falls.
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