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As we all know, memecoins have surged this cycle — a phenomenon fueled and formalized by Pump.fun.
Defining this category has brought Pump an impressive $780M in revenue in just 18 months. Still, little of that windfall appears to have been reinvested back into the ecosystem. When whispers of a $600M ICO at a $4B valuation began circulating in June, sentiment began to shift. The platform’s need for additional capital – despite its massive revenues – sparked fresh scrutiny. Where many once saw ambition and growth, some now saw signs of an operation optimizing more for extraction than ecosystem building.
This came to a head in early July when platforms hosting the ICO leaked the raise's dates, triggering an exodus from Pump. That week, BonkFun, the launchpad of Solana's oldest memecoin BONK, had its market share flip Pump's for the first time. And, since then, Bonk, and now Zora, have continued eating away at the launchpad market, with Bonk now commanding 81% of total market share and Zora flipping both for tokens launched.
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