Pump.fun’s PUMP Plummets: Meme Coin Mania Fades

The meme coin market experienced a cooling period Friday morning. The primary token of Solana-based launchpad, Pump.fun, saw its value decline by over 9% in just 24 hours, contributing to a broader downturn within the meme coin space.

Currently valued at roughly $0.0072, the token has still increased by an impressive 142% over the last month. According to CoinGecko data, PUMP is sitting only about 11% lower than the record high it established around September 14th, when it was valued at $0.0088. Usage statistics indicate that the Pump.fun app has seen a surge in popularity with a 450% increase in daily users over three months, according to the company.

On Myriad, a prediction marketplace platform operated by Decrypt’s parent company DASTAN, market sentiment shifted significantly overnight regarding PUMP’s prospects. Yesterday, individuals were predicting a strong chance (54%) of the token’s market capitalization reaching $4 billion before it would drop to $2 billion. However, as of this morning, predictors are now estimating a 66% probability of it decreasing to that lower $2 billion threshold.

The negative movement spread across the Pump.fun system, leading to an overall market capitalization decrease of roughly 6% to $3.85 billion. Some specific coins affected included TROLL (down 10%) and Aura (down 12%). Fartcoin, PNUT, and Moo Deng saw smaller reductions.

Other, more established meme coins were also affected. Dogecoin lost about 3.6% of its value. PUDGY, related to Pudgy Penguins, fell about 5.1%. PEPE and BONK also experienced declines. Newer coins such as CHILLGUY and HarryPotterObamaSonic10Inu (ETH) went down by 7.6% and 6.4%, respectively. Overall, the meme coin market has shrunk by almost 5% in the past 24 hours, now holding a valuation of approximately $87 billion.

These decreases contrast with the relatively small changes seen in more well-known cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin dipped 0.8%, down to $116,263, while Ethereum fell about 1.3% to a price of $4,521. Ongoing staking concerns, have impacted yield strategies.

Altcoin Gains

Outside of the meme coin market, various altcoins have been increasing in value in recent days. Some analysts believe that the Securities and Exchange Commission’s decision to approve standardized listings for crypto exchange-traded products could further boost certain altcoins.

Gaming-related cryptocurrencies showed some level of strength. Immutable’s IMX token increased significantly by 17% just Thursday, and roughly 47% for the week overall, seemingly influenced by the recent rate cuts from the Federal Reserve, and a number of partnerships including Ubisoft and NetMarble.

This positive movement is occurring despite some broader challenges faced by the crypto gaming market, which has seen various tokens shut down due to unsustainable launch models.

This week marked the introduction of the first exchange-traded fund with direct exposure to DOGE. The launch exceeded analysts’ expectations. Eric Balchunas, a Senior ETF Analyst at Bloomberg, remarked on Twitter: “My expectations were demolished within the first hour of trading, as DOJE already recorded almost $6M in volume. That’s incredibly strong. Many ETFs trade less than $1M on the first day.”