Pump.fun 101: How Tokens Launch, Live, and Die on Solana

Born on the Chain: How Tokens Are Created

Pump.fun strips away complexity and gatekeeping, letting anyone spin up a token with just a few clicks.

Here’s how it goes down:

• Pick a Token Name: It could be a meme, a joke, an inside reference, or even a social commentary. 

• Pay a Small SOL Fee: Typically around 0.02 to 0.05 SOL, equivalent to less than $2. This fee is affordable enough for experimentation, yet high enough to discourage endless spam. 

• Pump.fun Deploys the Smart Contract: Liquidity mechanics and basic tokenomics are automatically handled through a bonding curve model. You don’t have to touch code or set up Automated Market Makers (AMMs) manually.

• Your Token Appears on Pump.fun’s Site: Now, it’s live for the world to see, track, and trade… if it survives.

This instant creation process fuels the platform’s mystique. People launch tokens for fun, memes, profit, social experiments—or simply chaos.

The platform operates on a "fair launch" policy, which prohibits presales and insider allocations, aiming to prevent early insiders from dumping tokens and causing price crashes. While presales are forbidden, creators have the option to pre-purchase a percentage of their own token, typically between 10% to 30% of the total supply, to demonstrate confidence and establish an initial stake. 

It’s as if crypto’s spirit of experimentation found its perfect playground.

The Game of Liquidity: Surviving the Unlock

Pump.fun isn’t pure chaos—it’s structured chaos.

A key mechanic defines a token’s fate:

Liquidity remains locked until your token hits a certain market capitalization threshold.

Here’s how it works:

• Your token launches in “locked” mode.

• Buyers can accumulate tokens, but cannot sell until the threshold is reached.

• The liquidity unlocks and the token becomes fully tradable when its market capitalization reaches a specific milestone, typically ranging from $60,000 to $90,000.

• If the unlock target is reached:

• Liquidity unlocks.
• Trading opens on Solana DEXs.

• Your token becomes fully tradable, primarily on PumpSwap, Pump.fun's own native decentralized exchange. This eliminates the previous 6 SOL migration fee to external DEXs like Raydium, allowing for free and instant token migrations. PumpSwap operates on an Automated Market Maker (AMM) model, similar to Uniswap V2. 

• Pump.fun also offers a "Creator Revenue Sharing" program, distributing 50% of PumpSwap trading fees to token creators. This program became effective on May 12, 2025, and applies to all projects still on the Pump.fun trading curve or that have graduated to PumpSwap. No retroactive rewards are provided for trading volume prior to this date, nor for trading on external DEXs.

If it’s not reached:

• Liquidity stays locked forever.
• Early buyers cannot exit.
• The launch fee is lost, and the token quietly fades away.

This creates a game of high stakes:

• Early buyers pile in to help reach the unlock.
• But they’re wary because once unlocked, the token can dump instantly.
• The creator faces a tough question: can they generate enough buzz to hit the target before interest dies?

For those that do unlock, the token enters a new battlefield of charts, memes, and trader psychology.

Breaking Down the Costs: Pump.fun’s Fees & Graduation Milestones

Here’s a quick rundown of Pump.fun’s financial mechanics — no table needed:

🔸 Token Creation Fee:

→ 0.02 – 0.05 SOL (usually under $2).

Affordable for experiments but high enough to prevent spam.

🔸 Pre-Graduation Trading Fee (Swap Fee):

→ 1% of trading volume while tokens are still locked.

🔸 Post-Graduation Trading Fee (PumpSwap):

→ 0.25% of trading volume.
• 0.20% goes to liquidity providers (LPs).
• 0.05% goes to the Pump.fun protocol.

🔸 Market Cap Threshold for Graduation:

→ Typically between $60,000 and $90,000.
This is the target your token must hit to unlock liquidity and become tradable.

🔸 Creator Reward Upon Graduation:

→ 0.5 SOL bonus for creators whose tokens successfully graduate.

The Power of Memes: More Than Just Jokes

On Pump.fun, memes are not just entertainment—they’re survival tools.

A token is only as strong as the story behind it. And memes are the narrative armor that can make even the silliest token shine.

Memes serve several roles:

• Identity Creation: A token isn’t just a symbol; it’s a character, a joke, or a cultural statement.

• Hype Generation: Viral memes spark curiosity, drawing in new buyers.

• Community Bonding: Shared humor and symbolism create rapid community cohesion.

While prominent meme coins like $BONK, $SAMO, and PEPE gained legendary status on other chains, their success has inspired countless meme coins on Pump.fun, demonstrating the power of narrative and community. It's important to note that $BONK was airdropped in December 2022,

$SAMO launched in 2021 , and the original  

PEPE launched on Ethereum and BNB Smart Chain in April/May 2023. Pump.fun itself launched in January 2024 , meaning these tokens did not originate on the platform. 

Even purely comedic tokens—like “FUDcoin” or “ShillToken”—have unlocked purely because their memes spread fast enough to reach the unlock threshold.

Risks, Controversies, and Regulatory Context

While Pump.fun is a hub for "high-risk, high-reward investment opportunities" , its permissionless nature also comes with significant challenges and controversies. 

• Livestreaming Feature: In 2024, Pump.fun launched a livestreaming feature for token developers to advertise their projects. This feature quickly became controversial due to "increasingly extreme actions" by streamers, including claims of broadcasting from U.S. prisons, live sex shows, and games of Russian roulette, all aimed at attracting potential investors. The feature was ultimately suspended indefinitely in November 2024 following "major community backlash and attention from financial news organizations". 

• "Gen Z Quant" Incident: A contentious event in November 2024 involved a 13-year-old creator who launched a token, publicized it via the platform's streaming service, and then "dumped his holdings onto the market" after reaching a $1 million market cap, earning $50,000. This action provoked significant anger within the community, leading to the doxing of the creator and a retaliatory pump of the token to an $85 million market cap. 

• Legal Scrutiny: A lawsuit was filed against Pump.fun in the Southern District of New York by an investor who lost money on a token called "PNUT". The lawsuit alleges that Pump.fun operated as an "unregistered securities exchange" and exposed investors to "high financial risk".

• Regulatory Warnings: The platform has also drawn attention from financial regulators. The United Kingdom issued a warning against the site, leading Pump.fun to restrict UK users in December 2024. These actions highlight that Pump.fun operates "without oversight from top-tier financial regulators" , raising concerns about investor protection.

• "Soft Rug Pulls": While Pump.fun implements fair launch and bonding curve mechanisms to reduce the risk of "rug pulls" (where developers abandon a project after raising funds), its creators acknowledge that "soft rug pulls" are technically challenging to prevent. They instead provide users with information to assess a coin's legitimacy.

These events underscore that while Pump.fun enables "permissionless creation," it also operates in a largely unregulated environment with inherent risks and challenges related to platform governance and user safety.

Pump… or Dump? Understanding the Volatility

Pump.fun’s thrill comes from speed—but also from its brutal volatility. 

After liquidity unlocks, tokens face a volatile rollercoaster:

• The Mega Pump: Traders swarm in, volume surges, and social feeds explode with price charts.

• The Rapid Dump: Early whales take profits, price collapses, and latecomers get left holding bags.

Even “successful” tokens can crash in minutes.

The Psychology Behind It

This isn’t random chaos—it’s driven by classic human psychology:

• FOMO (Fear of Missing Out): Early buyers rush in, hoping to ride a pump.

• Social Proof: Viral memes create the illusion of inevitability. The "King of the Hill" feature, which prominently displays tokens that reach a specific market cap threshold, serves as a direct and potent form of social proof.

• Risk Appetite: Traders accept high losses for the shot at quick gains.

• Liquidity Traps: Once unlocked, traders fear being the last out, triggering fast dumps.

For many participants, the volatility on Pump.fun transcends mere investment; it serves as a form of entertainment. This "gamified" aspect contributes directly to the extreme risk appetite and rapid decision-making observed on the platform.

Yet amid this frenzy, some tokens survive because the meme evolves into a movement:

• Continuous meme drops.

• Active community chats.

• Creators delivering consistent updates or new angles.

Why This Matters for Weedcoin

Weedcoin itself launched on Pump.fun around early 2025, specifically on April 1, 2025. Its primary trading pair is WEEDCOIN/SOLPumpSwap, confirming its active presence and trading on Pump.fun's internal DEX.

Weedcoin began as a cultural experiment—a token wrapped in humor and community vibes. Its focus on "weed culture" and building a "stoner community" through social media presence and decentralized governance aligns with the platform's emphasis on community engagement over technical utility. Memes and shared narrative turned it from a casual launch into a daily presence in Solana’s meme culture.

Even though Weedcoin now operates at a larger scale—with daily blogs, visuals, and X Spaces—it remains rooted in its Pump.fun origins.

It’s proof that a token can rise from the chaos to become part of crypto’s cultural story.

Because in crypto, sometimes the vibe is the utility.

Future Outlook: The $PUMP Token Rumors

As of June 2025, there is significant speculation surrounding Pump.fun's potential launch of its own native token, often referred to as $PUMP. Reports, though unconfirmed by Pump.fun, suggest a potential $1 billion token sale at a $4 billion fully diluted valuation, with rumors of a sizable community airdrop (around 10% of supply) to early users.

While the exact criteria for airdrop eligibility remain speculative, community guides suggest that active participation—such as creating coins, trading on Pump.fun, or engaging with PumpSwap—could be factors. However, users are advised to wait for official confirmation from Pump.fun's official channels before making any investment decisions, as there is no guarantee of profitability and a risk of fake "claim" pages or airdrop scams.

This potential token launch signifies Pump.fun's growing influence and strategic evolution within the Solana ecosystem, moving beyond just a launchpad to a more integrated DeFi player.

The Wisdom of the Degen Path

Pump.fun is not for the faint of heart.

If you’re exploring this arena, remember:

• Start small.

• Don’t risk funds you can’t afford to lose.

• Recognize that every token launch is a cultural experiment, not a guaranteed moon shot.

Yet for those who love memes, fast-moving communities, and cultural storytelling, Pump.fun offers something unique:

• A playground for creativity.

• A rapid feedback loop from the crowd.

• And the chance—however slim—to birth the next token legend.

Whether tokens live or die, the community always marches on, memes blazing, eyes open for the next spark.

Join Us in the Space

Ready to explore deeper?

We’re hosting a live X Space:

→ Pump.fun 101 | How Tokens Launch, Live & Die on Solana 🚀
🗓 July 8, 2025 | ⏰ 6:20 PM CDT

We’ll talk mechanics, memes, and survival strategies for navigating crypto’s fastest arena.

Glossary

• AMM (Automated Market Maker): A type of decentralized exchange (DEX) protocol that relies on mathematical formulas to price assets, rather than traditional order books.

• Airdrop: A method of distributing cryptocurrency tokens to a large number of wallet addresses, often for free, to promote a new cryptocurrency or blockchain project.

• Bonding Curve: A mathematical curve that defines the relationship between the price and supply of a token. As more tokens are bought, the price increases along the curve.

• Degen: Short for "degenerate," a term used in crypto to describe a trader who engages in high-risk, high-reward investments, often with little regard for traditional fundamentals.

• DEX (Decentralized Exchange): A cryptocurrency exchange that operates without a central authority, allowing peer-to-peer trading directly on the blockchain.

• FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out): The anxiety that an exciting or interesting event may currently be happening elsewhere, often triggered by social media. In crypto, it drives impulsive buying.

• Liquidity: The ease with which an asset can be converted into cash without affecting its market price. In crypto, it refers to the availability of assets for trading on an exchange.

• Market Capitalization (Market Cap): The total value of a cryptocurrency, calculated by multiplying its current price by its circulating supply.

• Meme Coin: A cryptocurrency that is based on an internet meme, joke, or cultural phenomenon, often lacking intrinsic utility or a serious development roadmap.

• Permissionless Creation: The ability to create and launch something (like a token) without needing approval from a central authority or gatekeeper.

• PumpSwap: Pump.fun's own native decentralized exchange (DEX) where graduated tokens are primarily traded.

• Rug Pull: A malicious maneuver in the cryptocurrency industry where developers abandon a project and run away with investors' funds, leaving the investors with worthless tokens.

• Smart Contract: A self-executing contract with the terms of the agreement directly written into code. It automatically executes when predefined conditions are met.

• SOL: The native cryptocurrency of the Solana blockchain, used for transactions and network fees.

• Solana: A high-performance blockchain platform designed for decentralized applications and crypto projects, known for its speed and low transaction costs.

• Token: A unit of value issued by a blockchain project, representing an asset or utility within a specific ecosystem.