TLDR
- Raydium launched LaunchLab on April 16, a new memecoin-making protocol to compete with Pump.fun
- LaunchLab offers customizable bonding curves, no migration fees, and allows creators to earn 10% of trading fees
- The RAY token price surged nearly 14% after the announcement, reaching $2.50 before correcting
- Pump.fun recently cut ties with Raydium, creating its own DEX called PumpSwap which has seen record trading volumes
- Technical analysis suggests RAY is in a corrective wave pattern with potential targets between $3 and $4.25
Raydium, the Solana-based automated market maker (AMM), has launched a new memecoin creation platform called LaunchLab. The April 16 announcement triggered a price surge for the RAY token, which climbed nearly 14% to reach $2.50 before settling back to around $2.21.
The new LaunchLab platform appears to be a direct response to Pump.fun, which recently severed ties with Raydium. Last month, Pump.fun moved its token migration process from Raydium’s liquidity pools to its own newly created decentralized exchange called PumpSwap.
Prior to this move, Pump.fun had been a major contributor to Raydium’s revenue streams. Now, Raydium is looking to recapture market share in the popular Solana memecoin sector.
How LaunchLab Works
LaunchLab provides several features designed to appeal to memecoin creators and traders. According to Raydium, the platform offers customizable bonding curves and does not charge migration fees. Tokens that successfully raise 85 Solana (SOL) – currently valued at approximately $11,150 – will automatically transition to Raydium’s AMM.
For Creators: Custom Token Launch Features
– Token supply, total raised, quantity sold on curve
– Vesting with optional cliff and wallet delegation
– Burn & Earn: lock the LP & earn trading fees (!)
– And so much more pic.twitter.com/7LvQ70lw4O— Raydium (@RaydiumProtocol) April 16, 2025
The platform has already seen some early success, with around 10 LaunchLab tokens reportedly surpassing this threshold.
Token creators can launch their projects for free on LaunchLab. They also have the option to earn 10% of trading fees from the AMM pool after their token graduates to the main platform.
LaunchLab has set its trading fees at 1%. Of these fees, 25% will be used for RAY token buybacks, potentially supporting the token’s price over time.
PumpSwap’s Growing Dominance
While Raydium works to establish LaunchLab, its former partner PumpSwap has been experiencing tremendous growth. The exchange has broken its daily trading volume record for five consecutive days, reaching $460 million on April 17.
This narrowly exceeded the previous day’s record of $454.9 million, marking the fourth straight day with volume above $400 million.
Since its launch on March 22, PumpSwap has processed an impressive $7.3 billion in trading volume, according to data from DefiLlama. This rapid growth underscores the challenge Raydium faces in its attempt to reclaim market share.
Technical Analysis of RAY Price
From a technical perspective, analysts suggest the RAY token is in the midst of a corrective pattern following a long-term rally that ended in January 2025.
The weekly time frame analysis indicates RAY completed a five-wave upward movement between December 2022 and January 2025. A bearish divergence in the Relative Strength Index (RSI) marked the top of this increase, followed by a downward movement.
The price decrease reached a low of $1.39 in April before bouncing back and confirming the $1.70 area as support. According to wave analysis, RAY may have started wave B in an A-B-C correction pattern.
Short-term analysis suggests the current rally could target a price between $3 and $4.25 before continuing its larger corrective movement.
The Solana team has expressed support for LaunchLab, describing it as an important development for the Solana DeFi ecosystem.
Currently, the RAY token price stands at $2.21, down slightly from its post-announcement high but still showing significant gains on the day.
For creators interested in LaunchLab, tokens can be launched with various supply indicators, vesting options, and features like Burn & Earn. The platform aims to provide a streamlined yet customizable process for launching new tokens on Solana.
With the growing popularity of Solana-based memecoins and the continued expansion of the ecosystem, the competition between Raydium’s LaunchLab and Pump.fun’s PumpSwap will likely remain intense in the coming months.
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