Memecoins attract user traffic, but platforms are the real profit makers

Galaxy Research’s latest report reveals that while memecoins attract new crypto users, profits mainly go to launch platforms, exchanges, and trading bots—not average traders.

Galaxy Research found that memecoins can onboard new blockchain users, but most of the profits flow to the platforms that issue and trade these tokens.

The report, released Wednesday, shows that although most traders lose money in short-term speculation, infrastructure providers—including launch platforms, decentralized exchanges, and trading bots—have earned millions by facilitating memecoin trading.

The report spotlights Solana’s Pump.fun—a memecoin launch platform launched in early 2024—which has benefited substantially, with tokens on the platform reaching a $4.8 billion fully diluted market cap.

Galaxy Research adds that of the 32 million tokens on Solana, nearly 13 million were created via Pump.fun, a growth of nearly 300% in less than two years. According to Galaxy Research, “The platform has effectively streamlined token creation on Solana.”

Total token sales on the Solana platform. Source: Galaxy Research

The report also notes that the median holding time for Solana memecoins has plunged to about 100 seconds, down from 300 seconds a year ago, highlighting the dominance of trading bots and short-term traders in memecoin markets.

According to the report, memecoin trading activity has enabled Axiom—a platform with fewer than 10 employees—to generate over $200 million in fee revenue. “Axiom collects millions per month in fees from memecoin traders,” the report states.

Other tools, such as BONKbot and Trojan, profit by charging users fees to automatically purchase new tokens at launch.

Daily revenue from memecoin infrastructure. Source: Galaxy Research

Pump.fun Keeps Running as Memecoin Activity Remains Strong

Even though memecoins offer little utility beyond cultural value, platforms like Pump.fun continue to thrive.

On July 12, Pump.fun launched its own token, PUMP, raising $500 million in under 12 minutes. The Initial Coin Offering (ICO) distributed 125 billion tokens.

Pump.fun tokens on Solana. Source: Galaxy Research

DefiLlama data shows that between August 11 and August 17, Pump.fun generated $13.48 million in revenue—its strongest week since February.

According to Cointelegraph, Pump.fun’s trading volume topped $1 billion on September 14, hitting $1.02 billion, after reaching $942 million the previous day.

DefiLlama data over the last 30 days indicates the memecoin launch platform has produced about $120 million in fee revenue.

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