The Pink Sheets of Solana? How Pump.Fun is Steering the Chain’s Culture
Pump.Fun first made waves back when Solana soared from single-digit prices to nearly $260, a time when it felt like the network could do no wrong. In hindsight, a lot more was at play—traditional market mania, big-name institutional interest—but Pump.Fun’s relentless stream of memes and “alpha leaks” undeniably drew in fresh retail speculators who wanted in on the hype. Of course, that same hype cycle also opened the door to shady operators. Multiple high-profile memecoin rug pulls and scam operations set off alarm bells across the ecosystem. According to CoinCentral, though, Solana’s network activity just kept on growing, which captures the paradox: fast, low-fee environments draw innovators and exploiters.
Not long after, we learned from a Cointelegraph investigation how Bybit hackers laundered stolen funds through Solana-based memecoins. These criminals exploited the chain’s rapid throughput to move ill-gotten gains before anyone could react, a tactic that cast a shadow on the entire “fun and fast” narrative of Solana. Pump.Fun itself never launched a token in its aggregator days, but by stoking a FOMO-driven atmosphere with comedic social posts, it arguably created a perfect petri dish for questionable projects looking for quick pump-and-dumps.
That’s the context behind the rumor: Pump.Fun is now building an Automated Market Maker (AMM) that could directly compete with established decentralized exchanges like Raydium. Supposed Raydium leaks call it a “strategic miscalculation,” alluding to an attempt by Pump.Fun to siphon off Raydium’s liquidity and fees. Raydium brings in over $1 million in daily fees from trades across all its liquidity pools, not solely those connected to Pump.fun. Still, data from a Dune dashboard indicates that Pump.fun tokens account for more than 30% of Raydium’s daily trading volume.
What’s new this time around is that Pump.Fun is rumored to introduce a token model as part of the AMM—something that’s been described in community chats as “innovative but dangerous.” By weaving comedic and social incentives directly into DeFi, they aim to keep users engaged with playful NFT tie-ins, “meme-based yield,” or other out-of-the-box ideas. The catch? Critics see it as a potential “pink sheets” scenario, reminiscent of those over-the-counter markets where get-rich-quick hopefuls and shady promoters thrive.
To understand why that pink-sheets comparison matters, think about how major stock exchanges work. The NASDAQ tends to attract more tech-focused, venture-friendly companies, whereas the pink sheets are notorious for penny-stock pump-and-dumps. There’s a case to be made that Ethereum functions somewhat like the NASDAQ of crypto: sure, there are scams everywhere, but Ethereum’s established track record and higher fees historically drew in a proportionately larger share of “blue chip” DeFi, from MakerDAO to Uniswap. In contrast, Solana—with its ultra-low fees and rapid-fire UX—has sometimes felt like an over-the-counter playground, where opportunists and legitimate builders collide in equal measure. If Pump.Fun’s AMM cements itself as a central DEX, it might reinforce that pink-sheets vibe across Solana.
Any sudden dip in Raydium’s total value locked (TVL) after the rumored Pump.Fun launch might confirm that a chunk of capital is migrating to chase the new comedic yield incentives.
The culture factor is crucial here. People tend to overlook that technology alone doesn’t dictate a chain’s reputation—social perception does. Ethereum is known for a certain brand of “serious” DeFi and NFT projects, which self-reinforces. Solana, for better or worse, has a track record of drawing both major innovators (like high-throughput gaming and finance apps) and flamboyant memecoin fiascos. If Pump.Fun’s comedic brand successfully transforms into a leading AMM, we might see more projects adopting that same comedic or hype-driven tone. That cultural shift could lure a crowd who love rocket emojis and 1000x fantasies, and by extension, it might also attract project teams who prefer marketing spin over real substance. Once a blockchain or exchange picks up a “pink sheets” label, it can take a lot to reverse that perception from institutions.
But at the same time, competition is known to spark ingenuity. Perhaps Pump.Fun’s rumored AMM will push existing Solana DEXs to innovate, refine their token models, or introduce better safety nets for users. Still, the concern remains that if comedic hype outpaces robust audits and genuine management teams, the environment could become a feeding ground for more elaborate scams. We’ve already seen how hackers exploited memecoin mania on Solana to launder stolen funds. A new wave of quick-turn scams could do the same, piggybacking on Pump.Fun’s comedic marketing.
It’s important to note however that while memes draw much of the volume, Solana is also home to multiple subverticals far beyond memecoins. Decentralized Physical Infrastructure (DePIN) thrives on the network, with projects like Helium, XNET, and Hivemapper building real-world connectivity and mapping solutions. The AI-driven project Bittensor taps into advanced AI infrastructure capabilities, and futarchy markets such as Metadao experiment with governance structures that use prediction markets to guide decision-making. These projects highlight Solana’s versatility, even if the overshadowing buzz often comes from meme-driven speculation.
In a way, this is the story of how blockchains and exchanges shape the companies (or tokens) that appear on them. The underlying culture, fees, and user base can signal whether the environment is more akin to the NASDAQ or the pink sheets. Ethereum’s had its own rollercoaster of ICO mania and questionable tokens, but it also matured into a chain that draws serious DeFi heavyweights—largely because of the cost to deploy and a baked-in ethos of “build responsibly.” Solana is still forging its identity. If Pump.Fun’s rumored AMM grabs a big share of trading volume, it could tilt the ecosystem toward meme-fueled quick-hit opportunities, for better or worse.
Ultimately, this tension between accessibility, low fees, and real security is at the heart of crypto’s next phase. Pump.Fun once captured the imagination of traders with rocket emojis and comedic alpha calls. If they can anchor that energy in a well-audited AMM, they might usher in an era of “fun but safe” DeFi on Solana. If not, we could be looking at an extended run of pink-sheet-style chaos—a carnival of comedic marketing that also attracts criminals trying to slip in under the confetti. For now, the rumor mill is in full swing, and the market is poised to see whether Pump.Fun can redefine Solana’s culture—or simply confirm it as the chain where anything goes.
Resources:
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bybit-hackers-solana-memecoin-scams-zachxbt
https://coingeek.com/scam-claims-hit-central-african-republic-leader-memecoin/
https://coincentral.com/solana-sol-network-activity-grows-despite-scam-concerns/