Pump.fun shifts rewards model to favor memecoin traders over creators

Pump.fun has introduced a new feature that redirects rewards toward memecoin traders instead of token deployers, revising a fee model that once generated more than $15 million in a single day at peak activity.

Under the update, token creators must choose before launch between traditional Creator Fees or a new Trader Cashback model using “Cashback Coins.” The decision is permanent. Previously, creators automatically received 0.3% of all trading fees from tokens they launched. The platform said many memecoins succeed without a formal team, making fixed creator rewards less justified.

Cashback Coins are generated with every trade and can only be accessed through Pump.fun’s built-in trading interface, Terminal. The change aims to let market participation determine who gets rewarded.

The rollout comes as platform fee revenue declines. Pump.fun recorded $31.8 million in fees in January, down 75.6% year over year, with February tracking lower so far. Onchain data shows only a small share of participating wallets have achieved meaningful profits, while most retail traders posted losses.

Analysts at Santiment recently said memecoins may be showing bottoming signals based on broad market capitulation sentiment.

In a related move, Coinbase shut down its Creator Rewards program on Base earlier this month as part of a shift toward focusing solely on tradable assets.