In September 2024, SolanaThe protocol based on Pump.fun became The fastest growing encryption application in history By some measures, revenues soared to $100 million in record time.

The meme coin launcher has spawned some of the biggest memes, viral memes, and serious moments in cryptocurrency history, including Cute dog named Billya large number of Celebrity symbolsand A A developer sets himself on fire.

Some criticized the platform for Over-saturation of the currency market memewhile others hailed it as the primary driver behind coin mania.

So what is Pump.fun? Read on to find out how Same angle The launch pad works.

What is Pump.fun?

Created by a pseudonymous founder Color In January 2024, Pump.fun is a protocol that allows anyone to create a token in minutes for free. It has taken off so far More than 5.7 million iconsand was responsible for up to 71% of daily token launches On Solana.

One of the most controversial features of Pump.fun is Built-in live broadcast function. This came after a wave of meme developers streamed on Kick and Telegram pulling funny, weird and downright dangerous stunts to pump their tokens. This led to a new wave of Polarization currents.

Since its launch, it has managed to beat out competing protocols that also allow users to launch tokens cheaply. Players like DEX Screener Moonshot Twitter-based Makenowmeme Both tried and failed to dethrone Pump.fun, while controversial Tron creator Justin Sun had more success with SunPump, Which stole some market share from the protocol.

How do you generate a token on Pump.fun?

All users must do this Create a meme coin on Pump.fun A short form is filled out.

The site requires you to enter the token name, ticker, description, attach an image, and then click “Create Token.” It's really that simple. Token creators can also choose to add a Twitter, Telegram, and website link, but this is completely optional.

Previously, the site required creators to pay 0.02 Sol ($2.50 as of this writing), but in August 2024, the protocol Remove this barrier Making it completely free to unlock codes. In fact, you are now rewarded with 0.5 Sol (about $95) if you create a token that completes its “correlation curve.”

What is a correlation curve? Once a token is created, its correlation curve will slowly fill out as the market capitalization rises. Once the coin reaches a market capitalization of $100,000, it will be traded on a decentralized exchange. Radium With liquidity of $17,000.

What are the meme coins generated on Pump.fun?

Some of the biggest coin memes of 2024 originated on Pump.fun, including Billy (Billy) which peaked around a market capitalization of $218 million, Mitchie (Mitchie) peaked at $ 321 million, and Shark cat (SC) which amounted to 350 million dollars.

More recently, it has generated viral icons such as fog (fog), Smoked chicken fish (SCF) and redditdogg (r/snoofi).

It has also been home to a number of celebrity launches, including Iggy Azalea's the mom code, Andrew Tate-Supported My doorand Jason Derulo's Jason. It has also produced a number of tokens after hacking of celebrities and companies including Kylian Mbappe, Metallicaand McDonald's.

Then, of course, there is a long line of disagreements Live broadcast codes. While some Sound attempts In revolutionizing the creator economy, the first icon to attract the industry's attention was a boy and his alleged mother, who were speaking suggestively She bounced her breasts on camera. This has caused a tidal wave of new streaming tokens to emerge, including “Crack head dev“Who took a bunch of drugs before apparently losing consciousness and faking his death.

Most famously, a developer named Mikul doused himself in isopropyl alcohol and was doing just that Fireworks were shot at him To inject its symbolism. After being beaten several times, he caught fire and was taken to the hospital Third degree burns On 30% of his body.

The future of Pump.fun

At the time of writing, Pump.fun appears to have done just that Fend off the challenge From competing coin manufacturer SunPump, which was at one time Pump.fun flipped out of terms Daily meme coin traders. since then, pump. fun He made his way back to dominance.

But this snapshot showed that meme traders have an appetite for other meme launch platforms, and will not remain loyal without a reason. Perhaps for this reason, the Pump.fun protocol has continued to evolve.

Since Makenowmeme came out with lower fees, Pump.fun followed up with an update to remove its fees. Amidst the emergence of SunPump, Pump.fun He leaned into his flow feature By allowing multiple people to broadcast at the same time, similar to Twitter Spaces for meme coins. However, Pump.fun's foray into live streaming was short-lived, while the feature did exist Completely decreased In the interest of public safety after “dangerous content”. Shared in flows.

The protocol has attracted negative attention elsewhere as well. In May 2024, Pump.fun was attacked by a disgruntled employee. Jarrett drained Dunne Estimated at $2 million worth Solana and sent money to random addresses before embarking on a Twitter campaign claiming he wanted to “kill” the platform because it had “unintentionally hurt people.” It was He was arrested in London After a few days. In August 2024, Dan pleaded guilty For fraud by abuse of position, as well as transfer of criminal property, before subsequently requesting it He withdrew his guilty plea.

Pump.fun has also drawn the ire of financial regulators, with the UK's Financial Conduct Authority issuing a warning that the platform "offers or promotes financial services or products without our permission", prompting Pump.fun to do so. Block UK users.

As for what's coming, it's hard to know. Pump.fun updates come suddenly and there is no white paper or roadmap, even though the platform is there He raised the possibility of a token launch and airdrop. The platform will likely continue to interact with the competition, adding new features and modifying existing ones in an attempt to retain its competitive advantage.

This article was first published in September 2024 and was updated in January 2025.