Pump.fun is back on top, and it's not shy about it. After losing some market mojo to a competitor (Bonkfun, to be exact), it's bounced back with a vengeance. And what's its secret weapon? A new fee system called Project Ascend, launched on September 2, that's designed to make creators 10 times more money and bring some much-needed staying power to the world of memecoins.
introducing Project Ascend, a series of updates that will 100x the pump fun ecosystem by making coins more sustainable & aligned with their communities
— pump.fun (@pumpdotfun) September 2, 2025
to start:
- 10x more creator earnings via Dynamic Fees
- 10x faster processing of CTO Creator Fee applications
learn more 👇 pic.twitter.com/ATO1HCjarR
No More Flat Fees
The star of the show is a little thing called Dynamic Fees V1. Instead of charging a flat rate no matter what, Pump.fun is now playing favorites with a new market cap-based pricing system. The more successful a token is, the less creators have to pay in fees. This lets the little guys get a massive funding boost early on, which they can then use for things like marketing, getting on new exchanges, and all that fun stuff.
Pump.fun co-founder Alon Cohen put it perfectly on September 2:
"For us as a space to grow 100x, we need far more success cases. Coins with value that can last and giving retail genuine opportunities in making money. At the moment, we’re really limited at these kinds of opportunities if solid teams don’t want to launch coins."
The old flat fees were a real party pooper, creating "really low ceilings" for new projects. Cohen explained that it was tough for the big spenders (whales) to get in on the action when a trade meant they were instantly down as much as 10%. With this new system, everyone wins.
The Epic Comeback
Project Ascend is the culmination of a massive comeback. In July, Pump.fun was getting smoked by Bonkfun, which snagged $37.4 million in revenue (a whopping 77% market share) while Pump.fun languished with just $15.4 million. But come August, Pump.fun pulled off a stunning recovery, jumping to $35 million in revenue and grabbing 68.2% of the Solana launchpad market back.
What sparked this turnaround? For one, Pump.fun spent nearly $44.5 million in August on its own PUMP token, showing it's all in on its native ecosystem. The new fee system applies to all PumpSwap tokens, no matter when they launched, which is great news for existing communities and creators. And don't worry, traders, your fees and liquidity provider rates are staying exactly the same.
Community, Assemble!
The new initiative also makes it way easier for communities to take control. A new, streamlined Community Takeover (CTO) feature cuts approval times from days down to just a few hours. This is perfect for communities that feel their original creator has abandoned them, allowing them to redirect creator fees to new leaders who are actually putting in the work.
In an announcement, the platform declared:
“Don’t think a creator deserves Creator Fees? Submit a CTO application to begin receiving Creator Fees on a coin you’ve taken over.”
Cohen is aiming high, stating that Pump.fun will become "the hub for the most successful projects and creators the world has ever seen," with a goal of bringing on a ton of new talent from streaming, startups, and community building. Looks like the party is just getting started.
Gunel Ismayilova
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