Raydium Launches Its Meme Coin Token Launchpad, Targeting Pump.fun's Market Share

Raydium's native token, RAY, soared during the early hours of the Asian session. The surge comes after the Solana-based decentralized exchange (DEX) and automated market maker (AMM) announced plans for its token launchpad, LaunchLab.

Raydium, the Solana-based decentralized exchange (DEX) and automated market maker (AMM), is rolling out its own token launchpad, LaunchLab, according to a report by Blockworks. The development comes during the early hours of the Asian session on Thursday morning.

The news has led to a surge in Raydium’s native token, RAY, which is now up by 15%. It is currently trading for $1.93.

The launchpad is being created as part of Raydium’s efforts to mitigate the revenue hit from Pump.fun, a renowned Solana meme coin launchpad, which is reportedly building its own AMM and cutting ties with Raydium.

As BeInCrypto reported last month, the report caused a 31% drop in the RAY price.

Previously, Pump.fun tokens reached a $69,000 market cap and had portions of their liquidity deposited into Raydium’s trading pool before being burned. Similarly, Pump.fun meme coins accounted for 41% of Raydium’s swap fee revenue in the past month.

With this background, the separation between Pump.fun and Raydium DEX signaled a potential revenue challenge for the latter.

Accordingly, Raydium’s decision to initiate LaunchLab appears to be a defensive move against the expected revenue hit. RAY suffered a 31% price drop in February amid concerns over its future earnings. However, the protocol still holds approximately $168 million in its balance sheet, according to Blockworks Research.

This financial cushion has enabled Raydium to move quickly and roll out a competitive platform.

According to Blockworks, citing anonymous Raydium core contributor Infra, development on LaunchLab began months ago. However, it was shelved to avoid direct competition with other teams. Following Pump.fun’s move to establish an in-house AMM, Raydium decided to launch its own alternative.

As Infra put it, LaunchLab is not a ‘Pump.fun killer.’ Instead, it presents an option for teams that do not wish to build their programs from scratch. The platform will offer novel linear, exponential, and logarithmic bonding curves to match demand with token pricing.

Moreover, third-party UIs can set their own fees, rendering the ecosystem more flexible. LaunchLab will support multiple quote tokens beyond Solana’s SOL and integrate with Raydium’s liquidity provider locker, enabling issuers to accrue swap fees indefinitely.

According to Infra, this is just the first component of a broader suite of tools being developed to streamline token creation.

The move comes amid increasing competition in the meme coin launchpad sector. GraFun Labs recently integrated TON blockchain for its meme coin launchpad, expanding the market beyond Solana. PancakeSwap DEX is also challenging Pump.fun with the launch of SpringBoard, its meme coin platform.

The launchpad trend has been heating up across multiple blockchains. Emojicoin.fun launched on the Aptos mainnet four months ago, adding another competitor in the space. Seven months ago, SushiSwap unveiled its meme coin launchpad, which is specifically designed to combat pump-and-dump schemes plaguing the industry.

While these platforms provide new opportunities for token creators and investors, they have also become avenues for crypto scams. Recently, BNB Chain's meme coin launchpad, four.meme, was exploited by hackers, highlighting the risks associated with these projects.

Similarly, bad actors are targeting these platforms to promote fake tokens. Authorities have also been scrutinizing token launchpads amid claims of securities law violations.

As competition intensifies, ensuring security and transparency will be crucial for any launchpad's long-term success.