New Platform Launches Amid Growing Competition in Solana’s Memecoin Ecosystem
Raydium, one of Solana’s leading decentralized exchanges (DEXs), has announced the launch of LaunchLab, a new memecoin launchpad that mirrors the core functionality of pump.fun. This move comes less than a month after news surfaced that pump.fun was developing its own automated market maker (AMM)—effectively ending an unofficial partnership with Raydium.
Raydium is launching a token launchpad that will initially resemble a direct fork of pumpdotfunhttps://t.co/wKVuuZSnNC
— Blockworks (@Blockworks_) March 18, 2025
LaunchLab aims to provide more flexible token launch mechanisms by offering linear, exponential, and logarithmic bonding curves, allowing token issuers to match price with demand dynamically. Additionally, third-party UIs will be able to set their own fees, making the platform more customizable for developers and liquidity providers.
Pump.fun’s Role in Raydium’s Ecosystem
Pump.fun has been one of Raydium’s largest liquidity drivers, as tokens launched on pump.fun that reached a $69,000 market cap had liquidity deposited into Raydium pools before being burned. Over the past month, pump.fun-generated memecoins accounted for 41% of Raydium’s swap fee revenue, according to Blockworks Research.
However, with pump.fun transitioning to its own AMM, analysts expect a significant decline in Raydium’s revenue, leading to a 25% drop in Raydium’s native token price in February. Despite this, Raydium still holds $168 million in assets, allowing it to pivot quickly and launch a competing platform.
Raydium’s Strategic Response with LaunchLab
According to Infra, an anonymous core contributor to Raydium, the protocol had been working on LaunchLab for several months but initially refrained from launching it to avoid direct competition with other platforms. However, once pump.fun’s AMM plans surfaced, Raydium decided to move forward with its own memecoin launchpad.
“LaunchLab isn’t about replacing Pump or any other platform—it’s an alternative for teams who don’t want to develop their own programs from scratch and for Pump users who prefer Raydium’s AMM v4 for pool migrations,” Infra stated.
LaunchLab’s Unique Features
LaunchLab will expand beyond existing memecoin launchpads by integrating features such as:
- Novel bonding curves (linear, exponential, and logarithmic)
- Support for multiple quote tokens beyond SOL
- Integration with Raydium’s liquidity provider locker, which enables token issuers to secure swap fees in perpetuity
Infra also revealed that LaunchLab is just the first component of a broader set of tools that Raydium is developing to enhance token creation and liquidity provisioning within the Solana ecosystem.
Conclusion: Rising Competition in Solana’s AMM Space
Raydium’s LaunchLab signals an intensifying battle within Solana’s memecoin ecosystem, as DEXs and launchpads seek to capture liquidity and user engagement. With pump.fun migrating tokens to its own AMM, Raydium’s move to launch its own competing service highlights the growing competition in the Solana DeFi sector.
As memecoin adoption continues to surge, it remains to be seen how LaunchLab will position itself against pump.fun and whether Raydium can maintain its dominance in the evolving Solana liquidity landscape.
