Raydium has upgraded LaunchLab so newly launched tokens can now be paired with any supported quote token on the platform. StonkFun is the first platform to use the new system after changes to Raydium’s programs, aggregators and trading terminals. StonkFun said the upgrade has reduced its deployment cost from 0.29 SOL to 0.03 SOL, while liquidity fees can be put back into liquidity.
The upgrade is also part of Raydium’s fight to regain ground in Solana’s memecoin market after former partner Pump.fun moved its token liquidity from Raydium to its own decentralized exchange, PumpSwap. Raydium launched LaunchLab on April 16, just a month after Pump.fun cut ties with the exchange. Pump.fun had been a major source of activity for Raydium, making its move a direct challenge to Raydium’s position in the market.
LaunchLab now supports any token pair on Raydium.
The upgrade brings flexible pairing directly to Solana, with deeper liquidity, lower fees, and stronger meme-native trading.@LaunchOnSF is the first integration partner to bring the model live on LaunchLab. pic.twitter.com/c3NFuYCRWI
— Raydium (@Raydium) September 6, 2026
Raydium is still fighting for a bigger share of Solana’s token launch market
Raydium’s move comes from a market that has changed sharply since 2025. Pump.fun once sent tokens that completed its bonding curve to Raydium for trading, giving Raydium a steady flow of new tokens. That changed when Pump.fun launched PumpSwap in March 2025 and began keeping those tokens within its own trading system.
The competition has since spread beyond just Pump.fun and Raydium. Other launch platforms, including BONKfun, have taken a meaningful share of Solana’s new-token activity. In the second quarter of 2025, LaunchLab-linked platforms generated more than $1.1 billion in trading volume, while BONKfun alone accounted for about $818.8 million. During part of July and August 2025, LaunchLab and BONKfun together handled almost 70% of Solana launchpad volume, compared with 27% for Pump.fun.
That makes LaunchLab’s new feature more about Raydium trying to stay competitive in a market where token creators have more choices. Lower launch costs could help attract smaller projects, while more flexible markets could give creators another reason to choose Raydium-linked infrastructure over competing launchpads.
Are cheap token launches creating better markets?
Solana has become one of the easiest networks for launching new tokens, but that has also created a quality problem. A study of 6.4 million Solana tokens published in August 2026 found that most memecoins showed signs linked to rug pulls within their first hour. The number of launches means traders have to sort through thousands of new tokens, while most projects struggle to attract enough buyers and liquidity to survive.
The trading numbers also show how quickly the market can change. Raydium handled about $352.8 billion in DEX volume in 2025, but its position has faced stronger competition this year. On August 21, Raydium recorded around $260 million in daily spot volume, compared with roughly $485 million for PumpSwap and $466 million for BisonFi. That gap matters because a launchpad is only as useful as the trading activity it can bring after a token goes live.
StonkFun offers an early example of what Raydium could gain if its launch activity grows. The platform has reported more than $392 million in total trading volume, with about $219 million coming through Raydium, and $1.21 million in revenue. The more useful measure going forward will be whether that activity keeps growing and whether newly launched tokens can hold liquidity for longer. If cheaper launches only produce more tokens, Raydium gets more listings but not necessarily a stronger market.
Users see more potential in Raydium’s LaunchLab
One user said Raydium is close to catching up with MakeSomeTokens, which also uses Raydium’s liquidity pools, but added that Raydium still needs to fix its starting market cap. The user sees that as one of the remaining gaps between the two platforms.
Another user pointed to Raydium’s decision to build infrastructure that other launchpads can use, noting that after Pump.fun launched its own AMM and introduced a feature that can use up to 12 SOL from the pool to buy a token after graduation, Raydium entered the launchpad market. Instead of building only its own launchpad, Raydium created infrastructure that now powers platforms such as BONKfun and LaunchOnSF. The user said both sides can benefit because competition can help the market grow.
A third user said another possible use for the new pairing system will be linking new memecoins with established Solana memecoins such as BONK and WIF. They argued this could create a short-term trading cycle around older tokens, although the trend could fade once the narrative loses momentum.
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