Pump.fun’s PUMP Slumps as Meme Coin Market Stumbles

Meme coin markets cooled on Friday morning as Solana token launchpad Pump.fun’s flagship token tumbled by 9.2% in 24 hours, leading a wider retreat across the sector.

The token, now priced at $0.007213, has nevertheless surged 142% over the past 30 days. PUMP remains just 11.5% below its all-time high of $0.008819, reached September 14, per CoinGecko data. The mobile app has seen daily active users rise 450% in the past three months, according to company figures.

On prediction market Myriad (launched by Decrypt‘s parent company DASTAN), users flipped on PUMP’s chances overnight. On Thursday, predictors placed a 54% chance on its market cap hitting $4 billion before it dropped to $2 billion. By Friday morning, users placed a 66% chance of its market cap dropping to the lower bound.

The downturn extended across the Pump.fun ecosystem, with its market cap slipping 6% to $3.85 billion. Notable losses included TROLL (down 10%) and Aura (down 12%), while smaller declines hit Fartcoin, PNUT and Moo Deng.

More established meme players mirrored the slump. Dogecoin slid 3.6%, Pudgy Penguins’ PUDGY dipped by 5.1%, PEPE and BONK notched declines, and newer entrants like CHILLGUY and HarryPotterObamaSonic10Inu (ETH) fell 7.6% and 6.4% respectively. Collectively, the meme market shed 4.8% over the past day, shrinking to $87.2 billion.

The losses contrasted with relatively mild dips for major cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin eased down 0.8% to $116,263, while Ethereum fell 1.3% to $4,521 amid ongoing staking concerns that have made yield strategies less reliable for holders.

Altcoins rally

Outside the meme sector, altcoins have rallied over the past days. Analysts suggest the SEC’s move to approve generic listing standards for crypto exchange-traded products may also add further fuel for select altcoins.

Gaming-linked crypto also showed some resilience. Immutable’s IMX token rallied 17% Thursday and 47% over the past week, lifted by the Federal Reserve’s recent rate cut and a string of industry partnerships, including with Ubisoft and NetMarble.

The momentum comes despite broader struggles in the crypto gaming space, where unsustainable token launches have forced multiple shutdowns this year.

This week, the first ETF with spot exposure to DOGE launched. Its initial rollout surpassed analyst expectations. “My over/under got destroyed in the first hour of trading as DOJE already posted nearly $6M in volume,” Bloomberg Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas tweeted. “That’s shockingly solid. Most ETFs trade under $1M on day one.”