Raydium Takes on Pump.fun with New Memecoin Launchpad on Solana

The decentralized exchange Raydium, a cornerstone of the Solana blockchain, is gearing up to challenge Pump.fun with a new memecoin launchpad of its own. This strategic pivot arrives roughly a month after reports surfaced that Pump.fun, a popular token creation platform, was experimenting with a custom-built automated market maker, potentially eyeing a shift away from its reliance on Raydium.

Raydium has long been a big player in the Solana ecosystem, capitalizing on the surge of interest in memecoins and decentralized trading. In 2024 alone, the exchange raked in approximately $154 million in swap revenue, a figure poised to climb to $1 million daily across its liquidity pools. Pump.fun, which exploded onto the scene, has leaned heavily on Raydium to facilitate secondary market trading for its tokens. When a token created on Pump.fun reaches a market value of $69,000 and its bonding curve is complete, it seamlessly transitions to Raydium’s infrastructure. This symbiotic relationship has fueled Raydium’s profitability, but recent developments suggest the dynamic could soon shift.

LaunchLab Emerges as a Strategic Countermeasure

Details of Raydium’s response emerged recently when Blockworks reported on “LaunchLab,” the exchange’s answer to Pump.fun. Described as a fork of its rival’s model, LaunchLab aims to replicate the token creation process with a logarithmic bonding curve while introducing distinct features. Third-party user interfaces will have the ability to set fees, and direct integration with Raydium’s liquidity pools will offer a streamlined experience.

Development of this project has reportedly been underway for months, underscoring Raydium’s proactive approach to retaining its influence. InfraRAY, a core contributor to Raydium, previously cautioned that Pump.fun’s exploration of an alternative market maker would be a “strategic miscalculation,” a sentiment that now seems to have spurred this competitive push.

The stakes are high in this emerging rivalry. Pump.fun’s meteoric rise has made it a dominant force in memecoin creation, but its dependence on Raydium for trading infrastructure has been a critical link. Raydium’s decision to launch a direct competitor could reshape the flow of revenue and user activity within Solana’s ecosystem.

By offering a platform that mirrors Pump.fun’s appeal while tying it closely to its own liquidity pools, Raydium is positioning itself to capture a larger share of the memecoin market. This move also reflects the broader trend of decentralized exchanges adapting to the growing popularity of speculative tokens, a phenomenon that continues to drive innovation and competition.