Pump.fun co-founder Alon Cohen said the Solana-based memecoin launchpad is revamping its creator fee structure after determining that the current model may have distorted incentives.
In a Friday post on X, Cohen wrote that “creator fees need change,” noting that the Dynamic Fees V1 system, rolled out several months ago, successfully boosted activity but did not lead to sustainable market behavior.
He explained that the system encouraged low-risk token creation while discouraging higher-risk trading — a dynamic he called “dangerous,” given that traders are the primary drivers of liquidity and volume on the platform.
Cohen said the initial launch showed encouraging signs. Within weeks, new creators were rolling out tokens and livestreaming, contributing to what he described as some of the strongest onchain conditions of 2025. During that period, Pump.fun’s bonding curve volumes more than doubled, according to charts he shared. The momentum, however, was short-lived and ultimately revealed deeper structural issues.
Creator fees prioritized minting over liquidity
Cohen said that while creator fees benefited serious projects with active teams, they had little impact on the typical memecoin deployer. Instead, the fees often acted as a blunt incentive to mint new tokens rather than focus on building liquid markets.
He added that the platform has struggled to deliver a smooth user experience, frequently forcing users to rely on community takeovers (CTOs) or trust third parties to follow through on commitments. “The platform so far fails at providing a good user experience here, oftentimes requiring users to CTO coins, trust other people to fulfill their promises, etc,” Cohen wrote.
In a series of posts on X, Pump.fun detailed the first phase of its overhaul. The platform will introduce creator fee sharing, enabling creators and CTO administrators to distribute set percentages of fees to as many as 10 wallets after launch. Teams will also gain the ability to transfer coin ownership and revoke update authority.
Cohen emphasized that no one from the Pump.fun team will receive fees under any circumstances, describing the new feature as being “for trenchers.” Fees will remain claimable at any time by designated recipients and will not expire if left unclaimed.
Pump.fun cements dominance as Solana memecoin launchpad
Pump.fun has solidified its position as the leading launchpad for Solana-based memecoins by offering near-frictionless token creation alongside a standardized path to liquidity.
Although the platform briefly lost market share in July when rival LetsBonk surpassed it in volume and revenue, momentum soon swung back. Pump.fun strengthened its standing through aggressive PUMP token buybacks and an updated creator payout program under Project Ascend. By late summer, industry trackers once again showed Pump.fun accounting for roughly 75% to 80% of all Solana memecoin launches.
