Power Shift of the Solana On-chain Memecoin Launch Platform

“The king is dead, long live the king.” This phrase echoed in the Palace of Versailles in the 18th century. The nobles of the time quickly turned from the deceased monarch to the new king, embodying an eternal truth about power: power never belongs to any individual; it flows like water, always seeking new vessels. This transfer of power often comes swiftly and ruthlessly.

Today, this ancient power transition ceremony is taking place in the realm of memecoin launch platforms on the Solana on-chain. The former dominant player Pump.fun, which held 88% of the market share just a month ago, now has only 13% left. Meanwhile, the newly emerged challenger Let'sBONK has already captured 86% of the market.

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This is not just another manifestation of the volatility in the crypto world, but a typical case of an empire collapsing: when the ultimate moat of attention is ignored, even the greatest first-mover advantage can vanish in an instant.

The Rise and Fall of the Pump.fun Empire

Pump.fun was launched in January 2024 by three young people in their 20s, with the core idea of transforming “worthless” things into “somewhat valuable” things. Users only need to upload a picture, give it a name, and with just a few clicks, they can issue a token for less than $2, without any programming knowledge.

By January 2025, Pump.fun generated over $458 million in revenue, with thousands of new coins launched daily, peaking with daily earnings exceeding $7 million. It not only became an infrastructure but also dominated cultural discourse, becoming synonymous with Solana memecoin culture.

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However, the tragedy began with one of its most innovative features: live streaming. Originally intended to allow token issuers to promote their tokens, things quickly spiraled out of control. In November 2024, some users began engaging in extreme behaviors during live streams, including simulating self-harm, threatening suicide, and abusing animals. The most serious incident involved a minor holding a shotgun in front of the camera to threaten their family, all to pump up the token price.

Pump.fun was forced to urgently shut down its live streaming feature, but its reputation has been severely damaged. Weekly revenue plummeted by 66% in an instant, public opinion turned against them, and competitors began to seize the opportunity. Faced with declining revenue and competitive pressure, Pump.fun made a decision that seemed smart but was in fact fatal: to rescue itself by issuing tokens (ICO).

This ICO is technically considered a success, raising $500 million from over 10,000 wallets within 12 minutes, along with $700 million in private placement. However, there are serious issues with token distribution: 60% of the shares were acquired by the top 340 buyers, and all sold tokens were fully unlocked, with only a transfer restriction period set for 48 to 72 hours.

The token price initially surged 75% to $0.007, but the enthusiasm quickly cooled off. It fell 60% within weeks, continuously hitting new lows, showing a typical “death spiral” trend. The tokenomics are also very aggressive, with 67% held by the project team and an unclear distribution timeline.

Despite users generating nearly $750 million for the platform, there are no immediate community rewards; meanwhile, private investors sold tokens worth $160 million to the exchange, creating significant sell pressure.

The final blow came when co-founder Alon Cohen publicly announced that the long-promised airdrop “will not happen in the foreseeable future.” This decision caused the token price to plummet by 15% within 24 hours.

The Rise of Let'sBONK

As Pump.fun continues to make mistakes, Let'sBONK is quietly building everything that its competitors lack: transparency, community orientation, and clear communication.

Currently, Let'sBONK's daily revenue has reached 1.3 million dollars, which is 5 times that of Pump.fun (254,000 dollars). Annualized, Let'sBONK's monthly revenue amounts to 434.92 million dollars, while Pump.fun's is 267.25 million dollars.

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From nearly zero in May to a stable breakthrough of one million dollars in daily revenue in July, Let'sBONK's revenue has steadily increased. Meanwhile, Pump.fun's income fell sharply from a peak of over 7 million dollars in January, dropping back to the levels of September 2024.

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Since the ICO, the PUMP token has lost 60% of its market value, while BONK has remained relatively stable, maintaining a market value of 2.1 billion USD. Let'sBONK uses 1% of its weekly income to buy back BONK, supporting this ecological token that predates the platform and already has a foundation.

The Importance of Attention Economy

Pump.fun once gained an advantage through network effects, but attention is fragile. It is not like the moats of traditional businesses; once trust collapses, the users' mindset can disintegrate in an instant. A live streaming incident gave users reason to try alternative platforms, and Let'sBONK quickly became the “clean” choice.

Realizing the crisis of life and death, Pump.fun launched a nearly desperate counterattack. They increased the token buyback ratio from 25% of daily revenue to 100%, and introduced a 30-day incentive plan to reward PUMP tokens based on trading activity. However, initial feedback indicates that this strategy has not reversed the competitive landscape.

The problem is not at the tactical level, but at the strategic level. No amount of buybacks or incentive programs can restore lost trust, nor can they refocus the attention of users who have already shifted away.

In contrast, Let'sBONK has built a true ecological reward system that is tied to user interests. The BONK reward program allows users to lock their funds for 6 to 12 months and receive a proportional share of the product ecosystem's revenue. This is not about “spending money to make people trade,” but about “paying to have users co-build.”

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A Bigger Picture

In the digital market, the switching cost for users is close to zero, and a dominant position can vanish in a matter of months. The success of Let'sBONK is not because they built a fundamentally superior product, but because they entered the market at a time when Pump.fun's reputation was at its most vulnerable. In the attention economy, timing is often more critical than technology.

Does Pump.fun still have a chance to turn things around? Although its market share has significantly shrunk, it is not yet at the point of exit. They do have some advantages: $1.2 billion in funding has bought them time and provided capital to experiment and outlast competitors. Even with the decline in market share, they still generate over $250,000 in revenue daily, approaching $100 million annually, and with substantial capital reserves, they are still in a strong position.

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The most likely scenario is market fragmentation. Let'sBONK may become the main platform, dominating the number of tokens issued and revenue, while Pump.fun will transform into a niche platform with loyal users, securing a place through its interface, features, or ecosystem.

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But to truly turn the tide, Pump.fun must not only solve technical issues or rely on monetary incentives to retain users, but also must rebuild trust and regain cultural high ground. This means achieving an open and transparent, community-centered token economy structure, and may even require a complete overhaul of the leadership to completely break away from past controversies.

In this power transition, we once again see an ancient truth: when a ruler loses legitimacy, no amount of resources or forms can restore dignity. Sometimes, for the sake of sustaining the entire ecosystem, power must be passed on to new leaders.

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