The memecoin launch platform on Solana – Pump.fun – has intensified its buyback program for the native token PUMP since the ICO last month, raising about 600 million USD. Although the revenue from platform fees – the main funding source for the program – is declining, the average buyback price remains higher than the market price.
According to data from the Dune analysis table compiled by anonymous on-chain analyst @adam_tehc, Pump.fun made one of the largest buyback transactions on Tuesday, spending 11.65 million USD to purchase PUMP. It is estimated that the development team bought a total of about 7.43 billion PUMP at an average price of 0.0058 USD, equivalent to 43.38 million USD – more than 40% higher than the current price of 0.0039 USD, indicating a significant gap between the buyback price and the market trading price.
Currently, the price of PUMP has dropped 42% from the peak of 0.0068 USD reached shortly after its launch in mid-July.
Another data source from Lookonchain recorded continuous buyback transactions with 175.3 million PUMP – worth nearly 705,000 USD in just the past few hours – and estimated a total of 7.66 billion PUMP worth about 30.65 million USD (equivalent to 0.766% of the supply). The discrepancies in figures between sources likely stem from differences in calculation methods and real-time data. Notably, the official dashboard of Pump.fun (updated daily) reports 34.4 billion USD in buybacks as of August 12.
Pump.fun started its buyback program in July, utilizing all platform fees, according to The Block. This program is taking place amid fierce competition among memecoin launchpads on Solana, and the debate about whether the 'buyback from fees' model is sufficient to compensate for the decline in user activity.
The competitor LetsBONK once surpassed Pump.fun in daily trading volume and the number of tokens launched at several points in July. Previously, the number of tokens 'graduating' on Pump.fun had sharply decreased as the memecoin frenzy cooled down. LetsBONK has also committed to allocating 1% of its revenue to buy back top tokens launched through its platform.
Even though Pump.fun has regained its leading position in releasing Solana memecoins since early August, data from The Block shows that trading activity remains highly volatile, while daily revenues have been on the decline since the peak in January, despite the launch of PumpSwap and the organization of the ICO.