Pump.fun, a prominent meme coin launchpad, has recently experienced a dramatic decline in its financial performance, with on-chain data revealing a significant drop in revenue and fees. On July 6, the platform's revenue plummeted to $533,410, while fees generated less than $922,890. This marks the first time since March 2025 that its daily fees have fallen below $1 million. Compared to its historical peak on January 23, the platform's revenue has decreased by 92% and fees by 86%. Earlier in the year, Pump.fun reached peak daily revenue and protocol fees of $7.07 million. This substantial decline signals a severe blow to the platform that was once at the forefront of Solana-based meme coin domination in the crypto market. Although fees saw a brief recovery to $6.6 million by the end of March 2025, revenue did not surpass $2.05 million.

Monthly comparisons further highlight the downturn. After peaking in January with $137.12 million in both revenues and fees, Pump.fun’s fees in June dropped by over 60% to $64.47 million, while monthly revenue reached only $39.08 million, less than 30% of its peak. Earlier in February, the platform's trading volume also decreased by 63% amidst a surge of celebrity-backed meme coin trends that frequently resulted in high-profile scams. Data from Dune Analytics indicates a stark disparity among traders: less than 0.01% of Pump.fun addresses generated a profit of $1 million in the past six months, while nearly 60% of meme coin traders incurred losses on the launchpad, raising questions about the platform’s future.

Adding to the platform's turbulent period, a major cryptocurrency exchange, Gate.io, recently and briefly announced a presale for Pump.fun's native token, PUMP. The now-deleted page on Gate.io detailed plans for a public sale starting July 12, offering 150 billion PUMP tokens at $0.004 each, which would imply a $600 million raise and a fully diluted valuation (FDV) of $4 billion based on a total supply of 1 trillion tokens. This potential sale aimed to distribute 15% of the total supply on a first-come, first-served basis, with no upper limit on individual purchases beyond a minimum requirement.

The announcement quickly garnered social media attention, but Gate.io swiftly removed all references to the PUMP token presale without explanation. Neither Pump.fun nor Gate.io has provided any official clarification regarding this reversal, leaving the crypto community with numerous unanswered questions. This incident is particularly perplexing given that Pump.fun’s co-founder, Alon Cohen, had previously advised followers not to expect a token from the platform or its employees, despite ongoing rumors of a token launch since April.

Community skepticism surrounding the purported partnership was fueled by several factors. Gate.io itself has faced scrutiny, having delisted 33 tokens for quality issues last month and being criticized for listing scam-connected projects. Concurrently, Pump.fun is no longer the leading meme coin launchpad, grappling with bot problems and significant trader losses. It also faces renewed competition, notably from BONK’s meme coin launchpad, LetsBonk, which recently surpassed Pump.fun in tokens created. The sudden retraction by Gate.io, reminiscent of Magic Eden’s similar incident with a TRUMP Wallet announcement, raises concerns about potential market turbulence if the underlying reasons are not clarified.

Despite its recent challenges, Pump.fun, launched in early 2024, has been instrumental in the meme coin ecosystem, allowing instant creation of tokens via a bonding curve model. At its peak during the January memecoin surge, it achieved daily revenues exceeding $7 million. Overall, it has facilitated over 11 million token creations, generating approximately $700 million in protocol revenue. However, the platform is also facing increasing legal scrutiny, including a ban in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority and a class-action lawsuit in the United States regarding alleged unregistered securities. The abrupt removal of the IEO listing leaves the future of the PUMP token offering highly uncertain until a formal statement from either party is made public.