Memecoins may be drawing millions of new users into blockchain ecosystems, but the real winners are the platforms that facilitate trading, according to a new Galaxy Research report. The study highlights how most retail traders lose money in what it describes as a “short-term gambling market,” while launchpads, decentralized exchanges, and trading bots capture the bulk of profits.
Pump.fun dominates Solana token launches
Solana’s Pump.fun, a memecoin launchpad launched in early 2024, has emerged as a market leader. Tokens issued through the platform now represent a combined $4.8 billion in fully diluted market value, the report revealed. Out of the 32 million tokens minted on Solana, nearly 13 million originated from Pump.fun—marking a nearly 300% surge in under two years.
Galaxy described the trend as the “industrialization of token creation” on Solana.
You may also like: SBI and University of Tsukuba Launch Blockchain Research on XDC Network
Rapid trading fueled by bots
The report also notes that median holding times for Solana memecoins have plunged to just 100 seconds, compared to 300 seconds a year ago. This sharp decline underscores the dominance of bots and scalpers in the trading environment.
Infrastructure players are cashing in heavily. Axiom, a trading platform with fewer than 10 employees, has amassed more than $200 million in fees thanks to memecoin activity. Meanwhile, tools like BONKbot and Trojan earn steady revenue by charging users to automatically snipe tokens at launch.
Pump.fun token sale breaks records
Despite concerns about memecoins’ limited utility beyond cultural value, Pump.fun continues to thrive. On July 12, the platform launched its own token, PUMP, raising $500 million in under 12 minutes from an initial sale of 125 billion tokens.
According to DefiLlama data, Pump.fun generated $13.48 million in revenue between August 11 and August 17, its best-performing week since February. On September 14, it processed more than $1 billion in trading volume in a single day, bringing its 30-day fee revenue to around $120 million.
The memecoin boom has already cooled
Galaxy also reported that memecoins accounted for around 20% to 30% of Solana DEX volume in late 2025, down substantially from periods when they represented more than half of trading activity.
By Q2 2026, Galaxy said the cooldown had continued. Solana’s network fees fell about 44% quarter-over-quarter, with the decline linked partly to weaker memecoin-driven congestion, priority-fee auctions and MEV activity.
The market has therefore moved from the explosive speculative conditions of 2024 and early 2025 toward a more subdued environment.
Enjoyed this? Bookmark DeFi Planet, explore related topics, and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and CoinMarketCap Community for seamless access to high-quality industry insights
Take control of your crypto portfolio with DEFI PLANET PRO, DeFi Planet’s suite of analytics tools.
