Pump.fun, the dominant memecoin launchpad on Solana, announced a major protocol change on March 24 that caps creator fee modifications to a single post-launch edit — a direct response to rampant fee manipulation known as "vamping" that has eroded user trust. Co-founder Alon Cohen (@a1lon9) detailed the issue in a thread that has since accumulated over 396,200 views, 2,600 likes, and 479 retweets.
How 'vamping' undermined trust
Cohen explained that every token deployed on Pump.fun has an assigned Coin Admin controlling the creator fee setup — who receives fees, how they are distributed, and in what proportions. Previously, these admins faced no limits on changes. "Coin Admins had free reign to change fee recipients and distribution as much as they desire, which ultimately led to manipulation," Cohen wrote. The typical pattern: a creator deploys a token with fees directed to a third-party wallet to build trust, lets the token gain traction, then quietly redirects fees back to themselves. "People realize, get frustrated, the coin loses traction and narrative is ruined," he added.
Under the new rules, every token launches with standard creator fees. The creator gets exactly one chance to redirect fees to a different wallet. Once reassignment is executed, the configuration is locked permanently. All existing coins with active fee distributions have been retroactively locked as well.
Industry calls for coordinated response
The announcement triggered a wave of responses across the Solana ecosystem. Notable Solana trader Tom (@SolportTom) directly called out major trading platforms to join the effort. "We can all agree that vamps suck ass. Need to work together to solve it," he wrote, tagging @a1lon9, @AxiomExchange, @TradingTerminal, and others. His argument cut against short-term financial incentive: "Yes there'll be less money in fees but a better space = this will last longer." The post reached 215,300 views within hours.
The sentiment has been building for months. While Pump.fun expanded beyond memecoins in March to support WBTC, USDC, and Ethereum via Wormhole, and surpassed 1.5 million app downloads, its fee revenue and monthly trading volume remain well below 2025 levels. At its January 2025 peak, the platform generated $15.38 million in a single day in protocol fees; that figure has since fallen sharply. Cohen acknowledged the limits: "This is one small step towards overcoming a much larger problem."
Solana (SOL) is currently trading at $92.17, up 3.29% over the past 24 hours, according to crypto.news data.