Pump.fun Earns $18.6M Weekly While 81% of Memecoins It Tracks Drop 90%

Pump.fun earns millions while most of its memecoins crash

Pump.fun, a token launchpad built on Solana (a fast blockchain known for low transaction costs), generated about $18.6 million in protocol revenue in the seven days ending October 7, according to data from DefiLlama. At the same time, a study by analytics firm Talos found that 81% of memecoins it tracked had fallen at least 90% from their all-time highs. That gap highlights a growing divide between how well the platform performs and how most individual tokens fare.

Key numbers

• $18.6M in protocol revenue over the seven days through October 7.
• 81% of tracked memecoins had declined at least 90% from their peaks.
• Only 5 of 151 coins in Talos' return sample were still trading above their first-day price.
• About $52.5M in total fees paid by traders over the same week, with roughly $18.64M going to the protocol.

What Talos found about memecoin survival

Talos studied 150 memecoins for its survival analysis and 151 for return comparisons, including only assets with pricing on at least one centralized exchange (a regulated platform where users trade crypto for fiat or other assets). That screening already favors the more successful tokens, meaning the actual failure rate across the broader universe of launchpad coins is likely higher.

Even among this stronger group, losses were severe. The median token peaked about 17 days after exchange trading began. Talos defined a collapse as a 95% drop from the eventual peak and estimated a median of about 370 days between the high and that threshold. Only a small fraction of collapsed tokens later revisited their previous highs. Active addresses holding at least $1 in value had fallen to no more than 7% of their respective peaks. Roughly two-thirds of the Solana-era memecoins examined never mounted a meaningful second rally.

How Pump.fun keeps earning despite token losses

Pump.fun's revenue depends on transactions happening across its ecosystem, not on any single token recovering. When a trader sells one fading coin and moves into another, that generates another fee-producing transaction. New launches, rotations between tokens, and speculative bursts can keep platform income flowing even while earlier buyers remain underwater.

Over 30 days, fees totaled about $184.5 million and protocol revenue reached about $60.7 million, according to DefiLlama. Pump's fee structure distributes portions of trading income among the protocol, creators, and liquidity-related recipients. Its native PUMP token also benefits from buybacks and burns, which the platform says create demand and reduce supply. DefiLlama recorded about $8.45M in PUMP burns over seven days and $27.29M over 30 days.

What Pump.fun says about user payouts

Alon Cohen, co-founder of the launchpad, said more than 140,000 users collectively received about $4.46 million over a recent 24-hour period. That included $730,000 in Holder Rewards, $330,000 in Callout Rewards, and $3.4 million in creator fees.

"In time, Pump.fun will vastly outperform the social media industry in user payouts & rewards," Cohen said.

The three reward categories benefit different groups. Creator fees go to people behind tokens. Callout Rewards compensate eligible promoters or contributors. Holder Rewards apply to participating coins and do not automatically reach every person holding a Pump-launched asset.

What is confirmed

DefiLlama data confirms the $18.6M weekly protocol revenue figure and the broader fee totals. The Talos study provides specific counts, percentages, and timeframes for memecoin decline. Pump.fun's payout figures come directly from co-founder Alon Cohen. The platform has publicly committed part of designated revenue to buying and burning PUMP for a year starting in April.

What remains unclear

Talos studied only tokens with at least one centralized exchange listing, so results may not reflect the full picture for coins that never received such listings. The study does not say whether Pump.fun's reward programs are likely to offset losses for most token holders, and the data does not confirm what happens to the buyback commitment beyond the stated one-year period.

Why this matters for memecoin traders

For Pump.fun as a business, steady trading volume drives revenue regardless of how individual tokens perform. For people holding a specific memecoin, recovery still depends on demand returning to that asset, enough liquidity to sell it, and distributions large enough to offset losses. A holder can receive rewards and still lose money if the underlying coin's value falls faster than the distributions arrive. The contrast between platform success and token-level losses raises questions about whether the current model benefits the traders taking the biggest risk.

Sources

• CryptoSlate