Raydium's RAY Token Soars 12% After the DEX Unveils Launchpad Rivaling Pump.fun

Raydium's native RAY token soared more than 12% on Wednesday after the decentralised exchange revealed it was developing a new token launch pad.

Raydium, a decentralized exchange on Solana, is launching its own token launchpad, aiming to mimic the popular Pump.fun platform.

Aecio, a contributor at Raydium, announced on X (formerly Twitter) that anyone will be able to spin up cryptocurrencies on Solana with LaunchLabs, an initiative that mimics Pump.fun’s user interface.

However, he emphasized that LaunchLabs is not a fork of Pump.fun.

“It’s not about stealing Pump users — it’s about enriching Solana,” Aecio added.

Solana projects clash

LaunchLabs is the latest development in the ongoing clash between Raydium and Pump.fun.

Tokens launched on Pump.fun that reach a market cap of over 69 ETH can begin trading on Raydium, generating fees for the exchange.

Given that 40% of the exchange’s trading volume today comes from Pump.fun tokens, according to a Dune dashboard, it’s been a boon for Raydium.

The exchange has generated over $30 million in trading fees over the last 30 days, according to DeFiLlama.

However, the relationship has come under strain in recent weeks after onchain sleuths revealed in February that Pump.fun was testing a native exchange mechanism, suggesting it would dislocate from Raydium.

The RAY token plummeted more than 20% at that time.

Aecio called the move a “strategic miscalculation” given the exchange’s “crucial” role for Pump.fun.

“They'll be able to take the liquidity to any exchange they want. The question is: will they choose to bring it to Raydium?” Aecio asked at the time.

Now, it seems LaunchLabs will offer a neutral, permissionless infrastructure for teams to make on-chain token launches easier.

“Our goal: to empower Solana’s ecosystem, not gatekeep it.” Aecio said.

Pump.fun has not yet officially announced the in-house exchange’s development. Alon Cohen, a cofounder of the project, did not immediately respond to request for comment.

‘Easy call’ for Raydium

Meanwhile, investors have celebrated LaunchLabs as a key win for Raydium.

“This was an easy call for RAY,” Richard Galvin, CEO of crypto investment firm Digital Asset Capital Management, said of Wednesday’s launch reveal.

“Pump.fun made the mistake of trying to take on Raydium — when Raydium was always best positioned to launch a competing, less-extractive meme launchpad.”