The memecoin frenzy on Pump.fun is hitting a wall, with the platform's "graduation rate" sinking below 1% for a fourth straight week.

“Graduation rate” is the memecoin launchpad’s term for tokens that make it through the incubation phase and become fully tradable.

The memecoin frenzy on Pump.fun is hitting a wall, with the platform’s “graduation rate” sinking below 1% for a fourth straight week.

“Graduation rate” is the memecoin launchpad’s term for tokens that make it through the incubation phase and become fully tradable on a Solana decentralized exchange (DEX). To graduate, a token must meet specific liquidity and trading requirements.

Over the past four weeks, starting Feb. 17, Pump.fun’s graduation rate has remained below 1% for the first time, Dune Analytics data shows:

Pump.fun’s graduation rate has never been particularly high. The platform’s best-performing week was in November 2024 when 1.67% of memecoins moved on to the open market.

However, the sheer volume of tokens launched on the platform at the time made this percentage more significant. During the week starting Nov. 11, 323,000 tokens were created on Pump.fun, meaning the 1.67% graduation rate translated to roughly 5,400 tokens entering Solana’s DeFi (decentralized finance) economy in a single week.

With token creation volume declining on both Pump.fun and Solana, weekly token graduations have plummeted to a four-week average of around 1,500 tokens at the time of writing, according to Dune.

Memecoins are dying, and they’re not responding to positive market signals

Pump.fun’s dropping graduation rate reflects waning investor appetite for memecoins, which have developed a reputation as degenerate lottery tickets or quick cash grabs for their creators.

Several political figures have also launched their own memecoins. US President Donald Trump launched his own token earlier this year, which is currently trading at $24.87, down 84% from its all-time high reached on Jan. 19, according to CoinGecko.

Memecoins continue to struggle despite improving liquidity, according to crypto intelligence platform Matrixport. In February, Matrixport analysts noted that a strengthening US dollar had been putting pressure on Bitcoin prices by tightening dollar-denominated liquidity.

Since then, the greenback has weakened. Over the past month, the US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the dollar against a basket of major currencies, peaked at 107.61 on Feb. 28 before dropping to 103.95 on Mar. 14.

“The US dollar has recently weakened, leading to a rebound in liquidity indicators and some marginal improvements in inflation data. Despite these positive shifts, memecoins — one of the strongest narratives during this bull market — are still struggling significantly with no signs of recovery,” Matrixport said in its latest report.

Bitcoin caught in memecoin aftershocks

The struggling memecoin market has also contributed to a $1 trillion wipeout in crypto market capitalization, according to Matrixport.

“This redistribution of wealth may lead investors to remain cautious about deploying further capital, causing both the strength of the rebound and the sustainability of the rally to be limited,” the report noted.

Matrixport analysts add that this could lead to further Bitcoin declines, with a potential retracement to as low as $73,000—a level they believe would provide “strong support” for the crypto king to launch the next leg of his bull run.