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

By:Ā blockbeats|2025/03/19 13:00:03
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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:怊Pump.fun Flip the Table? Self-built AMM Pool Escapes Raydium's Restraints怋

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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China's Central Bank and Eight Other Departments' Latest Regulatory Focus: Key Attention to RWA Tokenized Asset Risk


Foreword: Today, the People's Bank of China's website published the "Notice of the People's Bank of China, National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Public Security, State Administration for Market Regulation, China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, China Securities Regulatory Commission, State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Further Preventing and Dealing with Risks Related to Virtual Currency and Others (Yinfa [2026] No. 42)", the latest regulatory requirements from the eight departments including the central bank, which are basically consistent with the regulatory requirements of recent years. The main focus of the regulation is on speculative activities such as virtual currency trading, exchanges, ICOs, overseas platform services, and this time, regulatory oversight of RWA has been added, explicitly prohibiting RWA tokenization, stablecoins (especially those pegged to the RMB). The following is the full text:


To the people's governments of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps:


ā€ƒā€ƒRecently, there have been speculative activities related to virtual currency and Real-World Assets (RWA) tokenization, disrupting the economic and financial order and jeopardizing the property security of the people. In order to further prevent and address the risks related to virtual currency and Real-World Assets tokenization, effectively safeguard national security and social stability, in accordance with the "Law of the People's Republic of China on the People's Bank of China," "Law of the People's Republic of China on Commercial Banks," "Securities Law of the People's Republic of China," "Law of the People's Republic of China on Securities Investment Funds," "Law of the People's Republic of China on Futures and Derivatives," "Cybersecurity Law of the People's Republic of China," "Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Administration of Renminbi," "Regulations on Prevention and Disposal of Illegal Fundraising," "Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Foreign Exchange Administration," "Telecommunications Regulations of the People's Republic of China," and other provisions, after reaching consensus with the Cyberspace Administration of China, the Supreme People's Court, and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and with the approval of the State Council, the relevant matters are notified as follows:


ā€ƒā€ƒI. Clarify the essential attributes of virtual currency, Real-World Assets tokenization, and related business activities


ā€ƒā€ƒ(I) Virtual currency does not possess the legal status equivalent to fiat currency. Virtual currencies such as Bitcoin, Ether, Tether, etc., have the main characteristics of being issued by non-monetary authorities, using encryption technology and distributed ledger or similar technology, existing in digital form, etc. They do not have legal tender status, should not and cannot be circulated and used as currency in the market.


ā€ƒā€ƒThe business activities related to virtual currency are classified as illegal financial activities. The exchange of fiat currency and virtual currency within the territory, exchange of virtual currencies, acting as a central counterparty in buying and selling virtual currencies, providing information intermediary and pricing services for virtual currency transactions, token issuance financing, and trading of virtual currency-related financial products, etc., fall under illegal financial activities, such as suspected illegal issuance of token vouchers, unauthorized public issuance of securities, illegal operation of securities and futures business, illegal fundraising, etc., are strictly prohibited across the board and resolutely banned in accordance with the law. Overseas entities and individuals are not allowed to provide virtual currency-related services to domestic entities in any form.


ā€ƒā€ƒA stablecoin pegged to a fiat currency indirectly fulfills some functions of the fiat currency in circulation. Without the consent of relevant authorities in accordance with the law and regulations, any domestic or foreign entity or individual is not allowed to issue a RMB-pegged stablecoin overseas.


(II)Tokenization of Real-World Assets refers to the use of encryption technology and distributed ledger or similar technologies to transform ownership rights, income rights, etc., of assets into tokens (tokens) or other interests or bond certificates with token (token) characteristics, and carry out issuance and trading activities.


ā€ƒā€ƒEngaging in the tokenization of real-world assets domestically, as well as providing related intermediary, information technology services, etc., which are suspected of illegal issuance of token vouchers, unauthorized public offering of securities, illegal operation of securities and futures business, illegal fundraising, and other illegal financial activities, shall be prohibited; except for relevant business activities carried out with the approval of the competent authorities in accordance with the law and regulations and relying on specific financial infrastructures. Overseas entities and individuals are not allowed to illegally provide services related to the tokenization of real-world assets to domestic entities in any form.


ā€ƒā€ƒII. Sound Work Mechanism


ā€ƒā€ƒ(III) Inter-agency Coordination. The People's Bank of China, together with the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, and other departments, will improve the work mechanism, strengthen coordination with the Cyberspace Administration of China, the Supreme People's Court, and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, coordinate efforts, and overall guide regions to carry out risk prevention and disposal of virtual currency-related illegal financial activities.


ā€ƒā€ƒThe China Securities Regulatory Commission, together with the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, the People's Bank of China, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, and other departments, will improve the work mechanism, strengthen coordination with the Cyberspace Administration of China, the Supreme People's Court, and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, coordinate efforts, and overall guide regions to carry out risk prevention and disposal of illegal financial activities related to the tokenization of real-world assets.


ā€ƒā€ƒ(IV) Strengthening Local Implementation. The people's governments at the provincial level are overall responsible for the prevention and disposal of risks related to virtual currencies and the tokenization of real-world assets in their respective administrative regions. The specific leading department is the local financial regulatory department, with participation from branches and dispatched institutions of the State Council's financial regulatory department, telecommunications regulators, public security, market supervision, and other departments, in coordination with cyberspace departments, courts, and procuratorates, to improve the normalization of the work mechanism, effectively connect with the relevant work mechanisms of central departments, form a cooperative and coordinated working pattern between central and local governments, effectively prevent and properly handle risks related to virtual currencies and the tokenization of real-world assets, and maintain economic and financial order and social stability.


ā€ƒā€ƒIII. Strengthened Risk Monitoring, Prevention, and Disposal


ā€ƒā€ƒ(5) Enhanced Risk Monitoring. The People's Bank of China, China Securities Regulatory Commission, National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Public Security, State Administration of Foreign Exchange, Cyberspace Administration of China, and other departments continue to improve monitoring techniques and system support, enhance cross-departmental data analysis and sharing, establish sound information sharing and cross-validation mechanisms, promptly grasp the risk situation of activities related to virtual currency and real-world asset tokenization. Local governments at all levels give full play to the role of local monitoring and early warning mechanisms. Local financial regulatory authorities, together with branches and agencies of the State Council's financial regulatory authorities, as well as departments of cyberspace and public security, ensure effective connection between online monitoring, offline investigation, and fund tracking, efficiently and accurately identify activities related to virtual currency and real-world asset tokenization, promptly share risk information, improve early warning information dissemination, verification, and rapid response mechanisms.


ā€ƒā€ƒ(6) Strengthened Oversight of Financial Institutions, Intermediaries, and Technology Service Providers. Financial institutions (including non-bank payment institutions) are prohibited from providing account opening, fund transfer, and clearing services for virtual currency-related business activities, issuing and selling financial products related to virtual currency, including virtual currency and related financial products in the scope of collateral, conducting insurance business related to virtual currency, or including virtual currency in the scope of insurance liability. Financial institutions (including non-bank payment institutions) are prohibited from providing custody, clearing, and settlement services for unauthorized real-world asset tokenization-related business and related financial products. Relevant intermediary institutions and information technology service providers are prohibited from providing intermediary, technical, or other services for unauthorized real-world asset tokenization-related businesses and related financial products.


ā€ƒā€ƒ(7) Enhanced Management of Internet Information Content and Access. Internet enterprises are prohibited from providing online business venues, commercial displays, marketing, advertising, or paid traffic diversion services for virtual currency and real-world asset tokenization-related business activities. Upon discovering clues of illegal activities, they should promptly report to relevant departments and provide technical support and assistance for related investigations and inquiries. Based on the clues transferred by the financial regulatory authorities, the cyberspace administration, telecommunications authorities, and public security departments should promptly close and deal with websites, mobile applications (including mini-programs), and public accounts engaged in virtual currency and real-world asset tokenization-related business activities in accordance with the law.


ā€ƒā€ƒ(8) Strengthened Entity Registration and Advertisement Management. Market supervision departments strengthen entity registration and management, and enterprise and individual business registrations must not contain terms such as "virtual currency," "virtual asset," "cryptocurrency," "crypto asset," "stablecoin," "real-world asset tokenization," or "RWA" in their names or business scopes. Market supervision departments, together with financial regulatory authorities, legally enhance the supervision of advertisements related to virtual currency and real-world asset tokenization, promptly investigating and handling relevant illegal advertisements.


ā€ƒā€ƒļ¼ˆIX) Continued Rectification of Virtual Currency Mining Activities. The National Development and Reform Commission, together with relevant departments, strictly controls virtual currency mining activities, continuously promotes the rectification of virtual currency mining activities. The people's governments of various provinces take overall responsibility for the rectification of "mining" within their respective administrative regions. In accordance with the requirements of the National Development and Reform Commission and other departments in the "Notice on the Rectification of Virtual Currency Mining Activities" (NDRC Energy-saving Building [2021] No. 1283) and the provisions of the "Guidance Catalog for Industrial Structure Adjustment (2024 Edition)," a comprehensive review, investigation, and closure of existing virtual currency mining projects are conducted, new mining projects are strictly prohibited, and mining machine production enterprises are strictly prohibited from providing mining machine sales and other services within the country.


ā€ƒā€ƒļ¼ˆX) Severe Crackdown on Related Illegal Financial Activities. Upon discovering clues to illegal financial activities related to virtual currency and the tokenization of real-world assets, local financial regulatory authorities, branches of the State Council's financial regulatory authorities, and other relevant departments promptly investigate, determine, and properly handle the issues in accordance with the law, and seriously hold the relevant entities and individuals legally responsible. Those suspected of crimes are transferred to the judicial authorities for processing according to the law.


ā€ƒļ¼ˆXI) Severe Crackdown on Related Illegal and Criminal Activities. The Ministry of Public Security, the People's Bank of China, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, as well as judicial and procuratorial organs, in accordance with their respective responsibilities, rigorously crack down on illegal and criminal activities related to virtual currency, the tokenization of real-world assets, such as fraud, money laundering, illegal business operations, pyramid schemes, illegal fundraising, and other illegal and criminal activities carried out under the guise of virtual currency, the tokenization of real-world assets, etc.


ā€ƒā€ƒļ¼ˆXII) Strengthen Industry Self-discipline. Relevant industry associations should enhance membership management and policy advocacy, based on their own responsibilities, advocate and urge member units to resist illegal financial activities related to virtual currency and the tokenization of real-world assets. Member units that violate regulatory policies and industry self-discipline rules are to be disciplined in accordance with relevant self-regulatory management regulations. By leveraging various industry infrastructure, conduct risk monitoring related to virtual currency, the tokenization of real-world assets, and promptly transfer issue clues to relevant departments.


ā€ƒā€ƒIV. Strict Supervision of Domestic Entities Engaging in Overseas Business Activities


(XIII) Without the approval of relevant departments in accordance with the law and regulations, domestic entities and foreign entities controlled by them may not issue virtual currency overseas.


ā€ƒā€ƒļ¼ˆXIV) Domestic entities engaging directly or indirectly in overseas external debt-based tokenization of real-world assets, or conducting asset securitization activities abroad based on domestic ownership rights, income rights, etc. (hereinafter referred to as domestic equity), should be strictly regulated in accordance with the principles of "same business, same risk, same rules." The National Development and Reform Commission, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, and other relevant departments regulate it according to their respective responsibilities. For other forms of overseas real-world asset tokenization activities based on domestic equity by domestic entities, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, together with relevant departments, supervise according to their division of responsibilities. Without the consent and filing of relevant departments, no unit or individual may engage in the above-mentioned business.


ā€ƒā€ƒ(15) Overseas subsidiaries and branches of domestic financial institutions providing Real World Asset Tokenization-related services overseas shall do so legally and prudently. They shall have professional personnel and systems in place to effectively mitigate business risks, strictly implement customer onboarding, suitability management, anti-money laundering requirements, and incorporate them into the domestic financial institutions' compliance and risk management system. Intermediaries and information technology service providers offering Real World Asset Tokenization services abroad based on domestic equity or conducting Real World Asset Tokenization business in the form of overseas debt for domestic entities directly or indirectly venturing abroad must strictly comply with relevant laws and regulations. They should establish and improve relevant compliance and internal control systems in accordance with relevant normative requirements, strengthen business and risk control, and report the business developments to the relevant regulatory authorities for approval or filing.


ā€ƒā€ƒV. Strengthen Organizational Implementation


ā€ƒā€ƒ(16) Strengthen organizational leadership and overall coordination. All departments and regions should attach great importance to the prevention of risks related to virtual currencies and Real World Asset Tokenization, strengthen organizational leadership, clarify work responsibilities, form a long-term effective working mechanism with centralized coordination, local implementation, and shared responsibilities, maintain high pressure, dynamically monitor risks, effectively prevent and mitigate risks in an orderly and efficient manner, legally protect the property security of the people, and make every effort to maintain economic and financial order and social stability.


ā€ƒā€ƒ(17) Widely carry out publicity and education. All departments, regions, and industry associations should make full use of various media and other communication channels to disseminate information through legal and policy interpretation, analysis of typical cases, and education on investment risks, etc. They should promote the illegality and harm of virtual currencies and Real World Asset Tokenization-related businesses and their manifestations, fully alert to potential risks and hidden dangers, and enhance public awareness and identification capabilities for risk prevention.


ā€ƒā€ƒVI. Legal Responsibility


ā€ƒā€ƒ(18) Engaging in illegal financial activities related to virtual currencies and Real World Asset Tokenization in violation of this notice, as well as providing services for virtual currencies and Real World Asset Tokenization-related businesses, shall be punished in accordance with relevant regulations. If it constitutes a crime, criminal liability shall be pursued according to the law. For domestic entities and individuals who knowingly or should have known that overseas entities illegally provided virtual currency or Real World Asset Tokenization-related services to domestic entities and still assisted them, relevant responsibilities shall be pursued according to the law. If it constitutes a crime, criminal liability shall be pursued according to the law.


ā€ƒā€ƒ(19) If any unit or individual invests in virtual currencies, Real World Asset Tokens, and related financial products against public order and good customs, the relevant civil legal actions shall be invalid, and any resulting losses shall be borne by them. If there are suspicions of disrupting financial order and jeopardizing financial security, the relevant departments shall deal with them according to the law.


ā€ƒā€ƒThis notice shall enter into force upon the date of its issuance. The People's Bank of China and ten other departments' "Notice on Further Preventing and Dealing with the Risks of Virtual Currency Trading Speculation" (Yinfa [2021] No. 237) is hereby repealed.


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