Pump.fun Token Dips 22% Post-ICO as LetsBONK Surpasses in Meme Coin Minting

Crypto Journalist

Amin Ayan

Crypto Journalist

Amin Ayan

About Author

Amin Ayan is a crypto journalist with over four years of experience in the industry. He has contributed to leading publications such as Cryptonews, Investing.com, 99Bitcoins, and 24/7 Wall St. He has…

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Less than a week after its eagerly awaited ICO, Pump.fun’s native token, PUMP, has experienced a notable price setback.

Key Takeaways:

  • Pump.fun’s PUMP token has dropped over 22% since its ICO, trading near its initial price.
  • LetsBONK has overtaken Pump.fun in meme coin creation volume amid a slowdown in Solana’s overall token minting.
  • Pump.fun plans token utility upgrades, including buybacks and a “community takeover” feature to boost engagement.

Once peaking above $0.006 shortly after its debut, the token has slipped more than 22% in value, trading near $0.004, effectively returning to its launch price, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

The initial coin offering raised an impressive $600 million within just 12 minutes, selling 15% of the total 1 trillion PUMP supply to the public.

Additionally, 18% of the tokens were sold privately, valuing the fully diluted market cap at $4 billion.

Meme Coin Pioneer Pump.fun Loses Ground as Competition Heats Up

Despite the explosive launch, the meme coin platform, credited with revitalizing Solana’s meme token scene earlier this year, has seen its dominance wane amid growing competition.

Onchain data shows that LetsBONK, a competing platform focused on the BONK meme coin ecosystem, has overtaken Pump.fun in meme coin creation volumes starting about two weeks ago.

The shift comes as overall daily token minting activity on Solana has declined.

While LetsBONK’s long-term prospects remain uncertain, its rapid rise marks a significant achievement.

Unlike previous challengers, LetsBONK managed to capture a sizable slice of the market share, with the BONK token itself rising 64% since the platform’s April debut.

Ahead of its ICO, Pump.fun’s trading volumes had been steadily increasing.

The team behind the project signaled plans to introduce new utility features for the PUMP token, including fee rebates, token buybacks, and other incentives designed to boost demand.

On Tuesday, Pump.fun executed a significant buyback, transferring nearly 188,000 SOL, worth around $31.3 million, to a dedicated wallet.

The repurchase of PUMP tokens at an average price of $0.0064 pushed the token’s price up by 17% to roughly $0.0067.

The platform has pledged to allocate 25% of its protocol revenues to ongoing buybacks. However, fee revenues for Friday totaled about $968,000, below the protocol’s average.

In a recent update, co-founder Alon Cohen unveiled a “community takeover” feature, allowing users to seize control of “abandoned” projects.

The mechanism aims to channel creator fees toward the most active community members who contribute through raids, content creation, and development.

Pump.fun Announces First Acquisition

Additionally, Pump.fun announced its first acquisition last week.

The meme coin launchpad has purchased Kolscan, a Solana-based wallet tracker that monitors top on-chain traders.

The integration will merge Kolscan’s analytics with Pump.fun’s social trading features, enhancing transparency, wallet tracking, and copy-trading capabilities.

Co-founder Alon Cohen emphasized that trading is a “social sport,” highlighting the importance of community and shared insights in driving success within the ecosystem.

As part of the deal, all Kolscan services will be made free to users.

Pump.fun has already attracted tens of thousands of users and intends to build a scalable crypto social media platform, leveraging Kolscan’s tools to grow its community and influence.