Raydium has introduced LaunchLab, a new platform for launching tokens, marking a clear shift in its relationship with Pump.fun.
Raydium has introduced LaunchLab, a new platform for launching tokens, marking a clear shift in its relationship with Pump.fun. LaunchLab allows users to create tokens that connect directly to Raydium’s liquidity pools, and it also enables third-party platforms to set transaction fees. Twenty-five percent of the fees collected are used to buy back RAY, Raydium’s native token. Following the announcement, RAY’s price rose by about 8%, reaching $2.33. The token’s market capitalization surpassed $680 million, and trading volume spiked by 187%, crossing $265 million.
This launch follows the recent debut of PumpSwap, a decentralized exchange introduced by Pump.fun on March 20. Before this, tokens created on Pump.fun would automatically migrate to Raydium once they passed a $69,000 market cap. This integration ended with PumpSwap, which now handles trading for tokens created on Pump.fun. In its first 10 days, PumpSwap generated $2.5 billion in volume and has now crossed $31.7 billion in total trading volume, according to data from DefiLlama.
Pump.fun had previously contributed significant trading activity to Raydium, with both platforms benefiting from the arrangement. However, Pump.fun’s shift to its own exchange marked the end of that collaboration. Raydium’s LaunchLab is viewed as a direct response to this change, aimed at regaining the flow of token launches and associated trading volume.
Details of LaunchLab had started to surface last month, suggesting the tool was designed to compete directly with Pump.fun’s token creation features. While LaunchLab shares similarities with Pump.fun, it includes new features like transaction fee allocation to RAY buybacks. The tool had been under development for several months before its official rollout.
The competition between the two platforms reflects a broader change in the Solana ecosystem, where both Raydium and Pump.fun were once closely linked. Pump.fun had relied on Raydium’s infrastructure for secondary market trading, making it a key source of volume for Raydium. With the release of PumpSwap and the planned launch of Pump.fun’s native token, the platforms are now operating independently and targeting the same segment of users.
Raydium remains the largest decentralized exchange on Solana by cumulative volume, but Pump.fun’s recent moves have challenged its dominance. LaunchLab’s features, particularly its integration with Raydium’s liquidity and incentives for RAY holders, are positioned to attract new projects and trading activity. The launch has made the growing rivalry between Raydium and Pump.fun more visible, ending their previous partnership and setting up direct competition in the token creation and trading space.
This article contains links to third-party websites or other content for information purposes only (“Third-Party Sites”). The Third-Party Sites are not under the control of CoinMarketCap, and CoinMarketCap is not responsible for the content of any Third-Party Site, including without limitation any link contained in a Third-Party Site, or any changes or updates to a Third-Party Site. CoinMarketCap is providing these links to you only as a convenience, and the inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement, approval or recommendation by CoinMarketCap of the site or any association with its operators.
This article is intended to be used and must be used for informational purposes only. It is important to do your own research and analysis before making any material decisions related to any of the products or services described. This article is not intended as, and shall not be construed as, financial advice.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s [company’s] own and do not necessarily reflect those of CoinMarketCap.
