Solana's "Ecosystem Battle": Raydium and Pump.fun Begin Cake War

By: blockbeats|2025/03/19 05:00:03
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In the crypto world, competition has always been the main theme, and the recent internal strife in the Solana ecosystem has taken this "cake-grabbing" drama to a climax.

Last month, the popular Solana meme coin launchpad Pump.fun announced the development of its own AMM to reduce reliance on Raydium. Less than a month later today, Raydium announced the launch of a token launch platform LaunchLab similar to Pump.fun.

With this announcement, it basically signaled the end of the informal partnership between Pump.fun and Raydium. LaunchLab is said to provide linear, exponential, and logarithmic combination curves to match the token's demand and price. It will also allow third-party UIs to set their own fees. The market reacted swiftly to this news, with RAY surging by 16.2% in the past 24 hours at the time of writing, briefly touching $2.05.

Solana's

Pump.fun's "Betrayal" and Raydium's "Counterattack"

In fact, Raydium and Pump.fun originally had a mutually beneficial relationship. Pump.fun, as a hot meme coin launchpad on Solana, had its token issuance split into two phases: first in the "seed" phase, relying on its own Bonding Curve mechanism for trading matching. Once the trading volume reached $69,000, it would move to the "public" phase, migrating liquidity to Raydium to create pools and continue trading. Raydium, as Solana's mainstream DEX, charges a 0.25% fee per trade, with 0.22% going to LPs, and the remaining 0.03% used to buy back RAY tokens to support ecosystem development. This means Raydium's trading volume directly determines its fee income, thereby affecting RAY's value.

However, if Pump.fun builds its own AMM liquidity pool, the situation changes. Pump.fun's tokens may no longer flow to Raydium but be directly "intercepted" within its protocol. This is undoubtedly a severe blow to Raydium. According to Blockworks Research data, in the past 30 days, Pump.fun's meme coins accounted for 41% of Raydium's trading fee revenue. Raydium's native token plummeted by 25% in February as investors anticipated a significant drop in Raydium's revenue once Pump.fun started migrating tokens to its internal AMM.

Related Reading:《Pump.fun Flip the Table? Self-built AMM Pool Escapes Raydium's Restraints

Raydium did not sit idly by, as it seemed to have anticipated Pump.fun's "betrayal." Data shows that Raydium still has about $168 million on its balance sheet, enough for some product upgrades and renovations. The advantage of having ample funds is that it allows the company to act quickly, such as suddenly developing a branch of Pump.fun. It was reported that Pump.fun's internal AMM had been circulating in Solana's rumor mill for some time before the leak. This LaunchLab was actually a big move that Raydium had been holding back for several months, indicating that it was not a sudden whim but a carefully planned counterattack. Relying on years of accumulated technical expertise and user base, Raydium aims to directly snatch Pump.fun's rice bowl from the source. This showdown is like a "battle of titans," with neither side willing to back down.

So why did Pump.fun and Raydium suddenly decide to end their mutual assistance and go their separate ways? Perhaps after this year's Memecoin market was harvested by meme coins and wife coins and then suffered repeated bloodbaths, with damage from whale insider trading, low-price chip accumulation, pump and rug-pull, there are no longer many retail investors willing to sit idly by for yet another PvP battle that shatters the dream of instant wealth.

The confrontation between Pump.fun and Raydium may be a desperate battle for remaining traffic and users. Pump.fun aims to "lock" users into its own ecosystem through DEX, while Raydium tries to snatch people from Pump.fun using a Meme launcher.

DeFi Old Playbook: A Reenactment of Vertical Integration

Overall, Pump.fun and Raydium's strategies are not only to improve their own tech stacks but also to engage in vertical integration, taking control of the entire token creation to trading pipeline.

In fact, this "end-to-end full-service" strategy was already common in the previous DeFi cycle. Back then, DeFi protocols were fond of playing the "three-piece set" - trading, lending, stablecoins, wanting to close the entire logic loop. From public chains like Near and Tron to protocols like Aave and Curve, they all entered the stablecoin race, some even making it an initial feature embedded in their own ecosystem. Public chains issued native stablecoins to "self-generate liquidity" or break free from external dependencies, while DeFi protocols built their AMM and lending platforms to solidify the moat of liquidity. The underlying logic is that whoever controls the "three-piece set" can strategically position themselves in the crypto financial ecosystem. Whether a new public chain attracts users with stablecoins or an old protocol embeds lending and trading components, the ultimate goal of vertical integration is scalability and independence.

Related Reading: "Crypto Mass War, The Defense Road to "De-USDC" Stablecoins"

Pump.fun and Raydium are now taking the same path. Pump.fun has a first-mover advantage in the token creation field, while Raydium has a strong foundation in AMM pools, with each side having its own unique strengths. On the bright side, this competition may stimulate the Solana ecosystem to reach new heights; on the other hand, it may lead to further fragmentation of attention and funds in the already illiquid Meme sector, and everyone might end up losing favor. Will this "civil war" in the Solana ecosystem result in each carving out their own territory, or will they fight to mutual destruction in the end? The ultimate success or failure will depend on whether the market and users buy into it.

The "cake" battle between Pump.fun and Raydium may be a microcosm of the escalating competition in the Solana ecosystem. Will the future be separate portals or internal resource consumption? Who will have the last laugh? Let's grab our seats and watch the show.

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Never Underestimate the Significance of the US Stablecoin 'Infrastructure Bill'

Original Title: "Never Underestimate the Significance of the US Stablecoin 'Genius Act'"Original Author: 0xTodd, Partner at Nothing Research


If the US stablecoin bill, the "GENIUS Act," passes smoothly this time, its significance will be tremendous. I even think it's significant enough to enter the top five in Crypto history.



Although abbreviated as the GENIUS Act, which translates directly to the Genius Act, it is actually the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins, which translates to "Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Dollar Stablecoins."


The proposal is lengthy, with several key points summarized for everyone:


· Mandatory 1:1 Full Asset Backing: Assets include cash, demand deposits, and short-term US Treasuries. At the same time, misappropriation and rehypothecation are strictly prohibited.


· High-Frequency Disclosure: Reserve reports must be published at least monthly, introducing external audits.


· Licensing Requirement: Once the circulating market cap of the issuer's stablecoin exceeds $100 billion, it must transition into the federal regulatory system within a specified timeframe, adopting banking-grade regulation.


· Introduction of Custody: The custodian of the stablecoin and its reserve assets must be a regulated qualified financial institution.


· Clear Definition as a Payment Medium: The bill explicitly defines stablecoin as a new type of payment medium, primarily regulated by the banking regulatory system, rather than restricted by the securities or commodities regulatory system.


· Embracing Existing Stablecoins: A maximum 18-month grace period after the bill's enactment, aimed at encouraging existing stablecoin issuers (such as USDT, USDC, etc.) to promptly obtain licenses or become compliant.


After finishing the main content, let's talk about the significance of this matter with an excited heart.


Over the years, when others asked, "After working in the Crypto industry for 16 years, what application have you created?"


In the future, you can confidently tell others—Stablecoins.


First, Clearing Concerns is a Prerequisite


Some people have held opposing views. In the past, people's impression of stablecoins was that they were an opaque black box. Every few months, there would be FUD — whether Tether's assets were frozen or Circle had a significant black hole deficit.


In fact, if you think about it, Tether easily rakes in billions of dollars a year just from the interest on those underlying government bonds. Circle, slightly less, also made a $1.7 billion profit last year.


They basically made money while standing there. From a motivational standpoint, they have no malicious intentions. In fact, they are the most eager for compliance.


Now, this opaque black box will become a transparent white box.


In the past, the only complaint was that Tether's funds might have been frozen by the United States. Now, they will be directly placed into U.S. compliant custodial institutions, with high-frequency disclosures, so you can rest assured.


【No need to worry about a rug pull】 is such a huge advantage—I think especially all Crypto people understand this.


Second, Mastering the Standard is Very Important


Stablecoins were once almost on the verge of being overtaken by CBDCs. In any country, if a central bank digital currency really exists, it is highly likely not built on a blockchain, at most it is built on some internal central bank consortium chain, which to be honest, is meaningless.


When CBDCs were at their peak, that was the most dangerous time for stablecoins.


If CBDCs had become a reality back then, stablecoins today would have been relentlessly suppressed into a dark corner, and blockchain would only be able to play a minimal role.


The remaining half-dead stablecoins would even have to learn the standards of central bank digital currencies, completely relinquishing their standard-setting power.


And now, stablecoins have won (or are about to).


Instead, everyone should learn the 【Blockchain + Token】 standard.


Nowadays, many blockchains actually have no meaningful applications on top, only stablecoin transfers. For example, with Aptos, the only scenario I use Aptos for is transfers between Binance and OKX.


And now, stablecoins will be legislated, what does that mean?


That's right, blockchain will become the only standard.


In the future, every stablecoin user will be the first to learn how to use a wallet.


As an aside, I actually think Ethereum's concerted push for EIP-7702 is quite forward-thinking. While other chains are all about memes, thank you Ethereum for sticking to account abstraction.



EIP-7702 is about Account Abstraction, which can support, for example:


· Social Account Registration Wallet

· Paying GAS with Native Coin

· And more


This paves the way for future new users to heavily use stablecoins, solving the last-mile problem.


Third, Deposit Enters a New Era


Furthermore, once stablecoins receive legislative support, deposits and withdrawals will become even easier.


Let's imagine a scenario: previously, hindered by the gray nature of stablecoins, but after the bill passes, many traditional brokerages can support stablecoins themselves. The money from a US stock investor can be converted into stablecoins in minutes and instantly deposited into Coinbase. Believe it or not.



Let's imagine another scenario: if the brilliant bill smoothly passes through the House of Representatives, next, you will see:


Due to the extremely lucrative nature of this trading, existing stablecoin leaders and newly entering traditional giants will crazily start promoting their stablecoin products.


And an outsider, due to these promotions, will start using stablecoins. And then one day, after finding out that the wallet account has been created, will explore Bitcoin inside. Is mining Bitcoin difficult?


Stablecoins are a huge Trojan horse. The moment you start using stablecoins, you unwittingly step half a foot into the Crypto world.


Fourth, Conclusion


As a large reservoir for digesting US debt, although stablecoins cannot directly absorb debt, they at least provide ammunition for the US debt secondary market. These functions are quite important, and slowly, stablecoins are becoming a part of the US debt market's body. Therefore, once the US legislation is passed and experiences the benefits, there is no turning back.


And, we are also confident that stablecoins are indeed one of the great innovations in our industry. People who have used stablecoins will find it hard to return to the traditional cash-banking system.


Once the bill is passed, users can't go back. In the future, concerns are about to be resolved, standards will be mastered, and the era of large deposits seems to be on the horizon.


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