TLDR
- Raydium’s RAY token surged 28% after announcing LaunchLab, its own token issuance platform competing with Pump.fun
- LaunchLab will offer three types of bonding curves and allow third-party UIs to set their fees
- The platform comes after Pump.fun reportedly began testing its own AMM, potentially moving away from Raydium
- Meme coin sector is down about 65% from its December 2024 peak, showing declining investor interest
- Raydium faces challenges in user engagement, as it primarily provides backend infrastructure while platforms like Pump.fun control the user experience
Raydium, a decentralized exchange (DEX) on the Solana blockchain, has announced the upcoming launch of its own token issuance platform called LaunchLab. The news has had a major impact on its native RAY token, which jumped 28% from $1.6 to $2.
The token’s price increase comes amid broader market stagnation. While the RAY token enjoyed double-digit growth, the broader crypto market saw modest gains of just 1.62% according to the CoinDesk 100 index.
LaunchLab will function as a token factory similar to the popular Pump.fun platform. It will offer a permissionless system for creating and launching tokens on Solana.
The new platform will feature three different types of bonding curves that match demand and price for tokens. Bonding curves are automatic systems that adjust prices as tokens are bought or sold on DEXs.
One key feature of LaunchLab is that it will allow third-party user interfaces to set their own fees. This could make it more attractive for developers who want to customize their token launch experience.
Raydium developer who goes by @0xINFRA explained on social media that the service could be easily added to applications already using Raydium’s services. These include AMM v4, CP-Swap, and CLMM pools.
“We’re not here to compete with launchpads currently using Raydium — LaunchLab makes on-chain token launches easier for teams, offering a neutral, permissionless infra,” the developer stated on X (formerly Twitter).
Pump.fun
The timing of LaunchLab’s announcement is worth noting. It comes less than a month after Pump.fun reportedly began testing its own Automated Market Maker (AMM).
Pump.fun’s move suggested it might be planning to reduce its reliance on Raydium. This potential shift appeared to hurt RAY’s value, which dropped 30% when rumors of Pump.fun’s AMM feature first emerged.
Raydium has been earning over $1 million in daily fees from trading across its liquidity pools. Data from February showed that more than 30% of Raydium’s daily trading volume came from Pump.fun tokens.
The relationship between the two platforms has been valuable but informal. Pump.fun allows users to issue tokens for less than $2 in capital, which are then listed for trading on Raydium after reaching a $69,000 market cap.
Neither team has made official statements about their relationship status. However, @0xINFRA denied early rumors that LaunchLab was simply a copy of Pump.fun.
“Not a Pump fork, LaunchLab’s PoC UI mimics it for familiarity, but it’s far more versatile,” the developer explained. “It’s the first of a tool suite—more models in progress to tackle diverse liquidity needs.”
The recent price boost for RAY comes after a difficult period. Over the past month, the token has fallen by around 60% amid a broader crypto market correction.
Market analysts point to several factors behind this decline. These include escalating tariff tensions and a worsening macroeconomic environment.
The meme coin sector has been struggling
The meme coin sector as a whole has seen reduced interest from investors. According to CoinMarketCap data, the meme coin market cap has dropped about 65% from its peak in December 2024.
Pump.fun’s “graduation rate” — the percentage of tokens that successfully move from incubation to full tradability on a Solana DEX — has been below 1% since February 17, according to Dune Analytics data.
Experts have mixed views on Raydium’s new venture. Ceteris, Head of Research at Delphi Digital, believes Raydium will face challenges with user engagement.
“Pump.fun owns the user, Raydium is just back-end infra. Even when users go to trade after bonding they go to Jupiter. Most probably don’t even realize they’re Raydium pools,” Ceteris commented. “Much harder to own the user than to create a vanilla AMM.”
Jongwon Park from Story Protocol added, “in fact, crypto UX gets better when you abstract away 10s of AMMs. Products are king, and liquidity in AMM follows products.”
Despite these challenges, Raydium’s established presence in the Solana ecosystem could give it a competitive edge as it enters the token issuance market.
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