Pump.fun has an extremely low success rate for its tokens, with only 1.41% making it to the Solana-based DeFi protocol Raydium. Despite this, the platform has seen an increase in revenue and popularity, even surpassing Ethereum's 24-hour revenue on several occasions. Meanwhile, the meme coin market is in the middle of a downturn, with major coins like DOGE and SHIB seeing double-digit weekly losses. Additionally, Elon Musk's X recently suspended a popular meme coin creator account.

Only 1.41% of Pump.fun Tokens Make It

Pump.fun, a Solana meme coin creation tool, has a remarkably low success rate for its tokens. Dune Analytics data indicates that only 1.41% of these tokens actually make it onto the Solana-based decentralized finance protocol Raydium. This rate has fluctuated between 1.41% and 1.21% since May, with an all-time high of 2.56% that was reached on Feb. 16.

Pump.fun successful launch (Source: Dune Analytics)

Adam Cochran of Cinneamhain Ventures shared in an Aug. 1 X post that the ”graduation rate” of Pump.fun coins, or those reaching a $69k market cap and getting listed on a decentralized exchange, is stagnant around 1.4%. Cochran also pointed out that no new coins have achieved a $20 million Fully Diluted Valuation (FDV), which in his opinion indicates the end of the current meme coin cycle.

However, some people argue that the low success rate is more reflective of Pump.fun’s ease of meme coin creation rather than the overall market. Pseudonymous crypto commentator Bunjil suggested that Pump.fun has simply exposed the ease of creating meme coins.

Despite the low launch rate, the fee revenue from successful tokens has been quite impressive, with Pump.fun charging a 1% transaction fee until a token reaches a certain market cap. The tool has also gained popularity among celebrities as people like Caitlyn Jenner, Iggy Azalea, and Jason Derulo have been using it to create and promote their own meme coins since May.

The meme coin market's total capitalization currently stands at close to $44.65 billion as the result of a 2.47% decrease in the last 24 hours according to CoinMarketCap data. 

Pump.fun Outshined Ethereum

Despite Pump.fun’s very low success rate, the Solana meme coin creation tool was still able to surpass Ethereum in 24-hour revenue on July 29. Pump.fun ended up pulling about $864,000 compared to Ethereum's $550,000, according to DefiLlama. 

Pump.fun 24 hour revenue on July 29 (Source: DeFiLlama)

This was not the only time Pump.fun’s revenue eclipsed Ethereum’s. On June 30, Pump.fun’s 24-hour revenue hit almost $2 million, slightly surpassing Ethereum’s $1.91 million. 

The record-breaking performance of Pump.fun stems from a meme coin trading frenzy on its native Solana blockchain, with cumulative fee revenues nearing $75 million. Currently, Pump.fun and Ethereum rank third and fourth, respectively, by 24-hour revenue, with Solana leading at $1.7 million and Tron following at $900,000.

Pump.fun allows users to launch a tradeable coin for under $2 in one click and uses a ”For You” algorithm to curate a real-time feed based on users' past actions.

Solana Meme Coin Trader Achieves 94x Return

Some of the Solana meme coins that do make it to the market are turning heads. A meme coin trader recently achieved a remarkable 94-fold return on their investment after buying the Solana-based meme coin “CTO.” 

On Aug. 1, blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain reported that a trader bought more than 256 million CTO tokens with just 50 Solana tokens. The trader was one of the first three addresses to buy the meme coin. 

Within an hour, the trader sold 227 million CTO tokens for 4,771 SOL, realizing a profit of about $800,000. Additionally, the trader earned $104,000 on a $3,400 investment in another token called PFI. While some believe this trader may be a very savvy meme coin hunter, others suspect insider trading.

Meanwhile, the broader meme coin market is experiencing a downward trend. Major meme coins like Dogecoin (DOGE), Shiba Inu (SHIB), Pepe (PEPE), Dogwifhat (WIF), Bonk (BONK), and Floki (FLOKI) have all shown price losses over the past seven days. 

Dogecoin's price dropped by 9.73%, and PEPE's by 13.51%. WIF experienced the largest loss among top meme coins, with a 27.36% decline. Other dog-themed meme coins, FLOKI and BONK, also saw declines of 15.01% and 15.40%, respectively.

Musk's X Suspends Meme Coin Creator Account

Meanwhile, Elon Musk's X has suspended an account called ”makenowmeme” that allowed users to create meme coins with a single post. The account reportedly violated the platform’s rules. The account had 15,000 followers, and was suspended on Aug. 2. 

The owners of the account stated on their website that they are working to restore it and have paused minting for now. The system made it possible for users to create memecoins by posting a $ticker with the token name, a description, and tagging @makenowmeme, with the option to attach an image or video.

Once enough people bought the tokens on the bonding curve, liquidity was deposited on the Solana decentralized exchange Raydium and then burned, using a mechanism similar to Pump.fun Solana meme coin generator. The platform’s top token, ”Dogs,” had a market capitalization of $184,000, and it offered MNM token airdrops when certain market cap and volume milestones were reached.

According to Lookonchain, some traders made serious profits trading these memecoins.  Even Alex Svanevik, the CEO of on-chain analytics platform Nansen, participated by launching a meme coin called IQ on July 31, which saw its price and market cap surge on the day of launch, according to DEXScreener.

Elon Musk vs. Nicolas Maduro

Elon Musk also recently turned a few heads after he agreed to fight Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a social media-fueled conflict. The spat escalated on July 31 when Musk made some comments on X threatening to ”carry” Maduro ”to Gitmo on a donkey.” 

These remarks were likely made in response to a video clip that was posted by right-wing commentator Ian Miles Cheong, which falsely claimed Maduro called out Musk. Cheong later admitted his comments were in jest.

In another post, Musk called Maduro a ”dictator” and supported Argentinian President Javier Milei's calls for Maduro to resign because of electoral controversies in Venezuela. Maduro retaliated by stating that Musk embodies ”fascist ideology” and challenged him to a fight, which Musk accepted with a post saying, ”I accept” and another suggesting Maduro would ”chicken out.”

Musk's last foray into the fight world involved a proposed bout with Mark Zuckerberg, which never actually happened. Talks stalled after Musk talked about his need for surgery. Recently, Musk reignited the rivalry by stating he’d fight Zuckerberg ”any place, any time, any rules.”

The terms of the Musk-Maduro fight, if it really happens, are still unclear. Musk suggested that if he won, Maduro should resign, while if Maduro won, Musk would give him ”a free ride to Mars,” though it is uncertain if this was just another attempt at humor.

Knowing the crypto community, it is only a matter of time before an Elon Musk fight meme coin hits the market.