RAY token from Raydium, which serves both as a utility and governance mechanism within its ecosystem, witnessed a notable upswing of roughly 28% on Tuesday.
The token’s value increased from $1.60 to $2.00, propelled by emerging reports that the platform is on the cusp of launching its own meme coin incubation platform.
This initiative is widely seen as a direct challenge to Pump.fun, currently the dominant space for new meme token releases.
RAY Token Price Surges on Launchpad Announcement
Information from Blockworks indicates that Raydium’s upcoming venture, dubbed LaunchLab, will emulate Pump.fun’s bonding curve framework but aims to distinguish itself through enhanced flexibility.
LaunchLab will offer the capability for external, third-party interfaces to manage and adjust transaction fees.
In addition, the platform is designed with broader token compatibility, supporting a wider range of “quote tokens”, and will integrate with Raydium’s own liquidity locker system to bolster security surrounding perpetual swap transaction fees.
The development of LaunchLab was revealed shortly after indications that Pump.fun itself was testing its own Automated Market Maker (AMM).
This move by Pump.fun was largely perceived as a deliberate step to reduce its reliance on Raydium’s infrastructure and potentially establish independent operation, a development with potentially significant implications for Raydium, which has relied on revenue streams linked to Pump.fun token pools.
Prior to this launchpad announcement, the possibility of Pump.fun developing its own AMM had already exerted downward pressure on RAY’s valuation.
CoinMarketCap data detailed a 30% reduction in RAY’s price prompted by these earlier speculations.
This pre-existing negative trend was then exacerbated by a general market downturn affecting the broader cryptocurrency space.
LaunchLab Design Focuses on Fee Customization and Enhanced Security
This widespread market correction was attributed to escalating global trade disputes coupled with an increasingly pessimistic global economic outlook. Over the preceding month, the value of RAY had already fallen by approximately 60%.
Adding to these negative headwinds for meme coins generally, data analysis from Dune Analytics indicates that Pump.fun’s “graduation” rate—defined as the percentage of meme tokens successfully progressing from an initial incubation stage to achieve full trading status on a Solana-based decentralized exchange—has remained below 1% since February 17th.
Historically, the highest recorded graduation rate reached 1.67% in November 2024.
Even at that peak, the substantial absolute number of successfully launched tokens was mainly due to the sheer volume of launches occurring at the time.
The consistently low current graduation rate is broadly interpreted as a sign of waning investor enthusiasm for meme coins.
These digital assets are increasingly recognized as high-risk investment vehicles.
Data from CoinMarketCap supports this trend, showing the meme coin sector’s collective market capitalization has shrunk by approximately 65% from its peak established on December 9th of the previous year.
Analysts Question User Acquisition for New Launchpad Platform
Despite fleeting periods of renewed optimism, such as those preceding Trump’s inauguration, the dominant trajectory for most meme tokens post-inauguration has been one of significant price declines and losses.
Furthermore, despite marginal improvements in overall market liquidity across crypto markets more broadly, the overall market climate, inclusive of leading cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, continues to face headwinds and there is currently no clear expectation of a major resurgence within the meme coin sub-sector.
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