Memecoins might entice new users to blockchains, but the majority of profits go to the platforms that create and trade these tokens, as highlighted in a recent report from Galaxy Research.
The study, published on Wednesday, indicates that while many traders incur losses in a high-stakes market, infrastructure providers like launchpads, decentralized exchanges, and trading bots earn millions by enabling memecoin trading.
Solana’s Pump.fun, a memecoin launchpad that launched in early 2024, has significantly benefited, with a total market value of $4.8 billion for tokens on the platform, according to the report.
Galaxy pointed out that of the 32 million tokens on Solana, nearly 13 million have been launched via Pump.fun, a rise of almost 300% in less than two years. “The platform has effectively industrialized token creation on Solana,” stated Galaxy Research.
The report further reveals that the average holding time for Solana memecoins has plummeted to around 100 seconds, down from 300 seconds last year, underscoring the presence of bots and scalpers in memecoin trading.
One trading platform, Axiom, has earned over $200 million in fees with fewer than ten employees, largely due to memecoin activities. “Axiom […] has scaled up to millions in monthly revenues by collecting fees from memecoin traders,” it noted. Other tools, such as BONKbot and Trojan, generate income by charging users for automated token sniping at launch.
Related: Cathie Wood: Hyperliquid ‘reminds me of Solana in the earlier days’
Pump.fun continues to thrive
While memecoins provide minimal utility apart from cultural significance, platforms like Pump.fun persist in their growth.
On July 12, the platform introduced its own token, PUMP, in a sale that garnered $500 million in under 12 minutes, with the initial coin offering (ICO) providing 125 billion tokens.
Data from DefiLlama indicated that from August 11 to August 17, Pump.fun earned $13.48 million in revenue, achieving its strongest week since February.
Cointelegraph reported that on September 14, Pump.fun processed over $1 billion in trading volume, hitting $1.02 billion after reporting $942 million the previous day.
Over the last 30 days, metrics from DefiLlama show the memecoin launchpad has accumulated around $120 million in fees.
Magazine: Memecoin degeneracy is funding groundbreaking anti-aging research
