What is pump.fun? How the Solana memecoin launchpad works

pump.fun in one paragraph

pump.fun is a Solana app for launching and trading memecoins. Its own welcome screen says it lets anyone create coins and gives everyone equal access to buy and sell from the start. There is no platform fee to create a coin, and every coin follows the same rules.^[1]

Stage 1: creating a coin

A creator picks a name, a ticker and a picture. The name, symbol and image can't be changed later.^[2] Every coin starts with the same supply of 1,000,000,000 units,^[3] and new coins use Solana's newer Token-2022 standard.^[4]

Coins are paired with a quote token, the token you pay with. That is SOL by default and USDC since May 2026.^[1] Some coins use another token, which pump.fun's docs call a custom pair.^[4] $ARMORED, for example, is paired with ORE.

Stage 2: the bonding curve

A new coin is not in a normal pool. It trades against a program called the bonding curve, which holds 793.1 million of the coins for sale. Each buy takes coins from the curve and raises the price a little. Each sell returns coins and lowers it.^[3] pump.fun says the curve works like a simple automated market maker, with no order book.^[5]

Our bonding curve explainer shows the numbers: the last coins on the curve cost many times what the first ones did.

Stage 3: graduation

When the last of the 793.1 million curve coins is bought, the curve is complete. Anyone can then trigger the move to PumpSwap, and pump.fun charges 0.015 SOL for that migration.^[3][1] Many coins never get this far.

Stage 4: the PumpSwap pool

After graduation the remaining coins and the money the curve collected move into a PumpSwap pool, and the pool's LP tokens are burnt, so nobody can pull that liquidity out.^[5] From then on the coin trades like any pool token, and apps such as Jupiter can route to it.

What every trade costs

Coins on a custom pair can set their own creator fee.^[4] With Holder Rewards switched on, that creator fee goes to the coin's holders instead of the creator.^[6] Always look at the full fee before you trade. Our guide on Holder Rewards uses $ARMORED as the example.

How people use pump.fun today

• The website and apps. Since 25 September 2026 the website signs you in with email, Google, Apple or GitHub instead of a browser wallet.^[7]
• Through Jupiter and wallets. Jupiter can route a swap to a coin's bonding curve or pool, so you can buy many pump.fun coins from your own Solana wallet.
• Holder Rewards coins. pump.fun lists coins whose creator fee is paid to holders, in the coin's pair token.^[8]

The risks, honestly

• Most coins are pure speculation. pump.fun's terms warn that coin values can swing hard and carry a material risk of loss.^[10]
• Prices move fast on the curve. Early buyers pay far less than late buyers, and can sell into late buyers' money.
• Copies are everywhere. Anyone can launch a coin with the same name and picture. Check the contract address with our memecoin checklist.
• Nobody needs your private key. pump.fun says it never asks for it in a DM, an email or on X.^[7]

StonkBuilder Learn explains how to spot a crypto scam ↗ and why the contract address is a token's real name ↗. We are independent and not affiliated with pump.fun.