Crypto Current #87
This week, we explore a significant shift in crypto's competitive landscape: LetsBONK has recently overtaken Pump.fun as the dominant memecoin launchpad on Solana, capturing over 65% market share while Pump.fun's anticipated token launch is confirmed for July 12. Meanwhile, corporate Bitcoin adoption is accelerating, with 34 public companies now holding over 730,000 BTC worth over $84 billion in their treasuries, led by established players and emerging newcomers. This reflects crypto's maturation into distinct institutional and retail pathways—each creating different opportunities for portfolio allocation as digital assets move from speculation to strategic adoption.
What's happening in crypto?
Trump Media seeks SEC approval for blue-chip crypto ETF
Metaplanet eyes digital bank acquisition in phase 2 of Bitcoin strategy
BlackRock iShares Bitcoin ETF surges past 700K BTC in record-breaking run
CoreWeave acquires Bitcoin mining company Core Scientific for $9Bn
Bitcoin stablecoin network Plasma sets XPL token sale after attracting $1 billion in deposits
Crypto markets rallied into week’s end, with Bitcoin setting a new all-time high above $116,800. Ethereum outperformed other large-caps, gaining 15% for the week amid growing interest in corporate treasury adoption and tokenization use cases, though it remains down 11% year-to-date. Raydium ($RAY) surged 25%, supported by increased activity and fees driven by LetsBONK. The total crypto market cap climbed to $3.56 trillion, buoyed by broad-based strength outside of Bitcoin, as BTC dominance edged down to 64.7%.
The changing guard: How LetsBONK dethroned Pump.fun ahead of its ICO
For over a year, Pump.fun dominated Solana's memecoin ecosystem with a 90% market share as the leading memecoin launchpad platform. This week, that monopoly cracked, with LetsBONK overtaking Pump.fun's market dominance, just days before Pump.fun confirmed details of its July 12 $PUMP initial coin offering (ICO).
Pump.fun and LetsBonk are memecoin launchpad platforms built on Solana, allowing users to instantly deploy and trade new tokens with minimal friction. Pump.fun pioneered the format by combining bonding curve mechanics with viral token launches, while LetsBonk offers a similar experience with native token incentives and closer economic alignment with its user base—an area Pump.fun may now be addressing with the upcoming launch of $PUMP.
Over the past 24 hours, LetsBONK launched 20,600 tokens compared to Pump.fun's 11,700, generating $1.14 million in daily revenue versus Pump.fun's $543,000. To us, the shift reflected the market's preference for different value capture approaches: LetsBONK uses half the fees earned by the platform to buyback $BONK tokens, creating community value, while Pump.fun has historically sold its earned $SOL fees.
However, just days after the LetsBONK surge, Pump.fun confirmed details of its much anticipated $PUMP ICO sale. Most interestingly—in the context of a market that increasingly values community-aligned projects—it is rumoured that Pump.fun plans to share 25% of platform revenue with $PUMP token holders. It remains to be seen what the final economics of the $PUMP token are, and how the market values Pump.fun's broader vision of not only regaining the memecoin launchpad throne, but also "...Facebook, TikTok, and Twitch. On Solana."
The competitive dynamics reveal crypto's rapid evolution. Platforms that seemed entrenched can lose market share within weeks when superior models emerge. We believe this demonstrates why digital assets require active monitoring rather than passive allocation. Technological and economic innovation drives market leadership more than brand recognition, creating both opportunities and risks in crypto's fast-moving competitive landscape.
Dark pools come to DeFi: Solana's privacy experiment
Solana's latest innovation involves "dark AMMs"—automated market makers that execute trades without revealing order information until completion. Unlike traditional decentralised exchanges (DEXs), where all transactions are visible on-chain, these protocols use cryptographic techniques to hide trading intent, similar to how institutional dark pools operate in traditional finance.
33% of Solana’s trading volume comes from DEX aggregators, which route users’ orders through several pools to get the best price. This market is dominated by Jupiter ($JUP), which captures upwards of 85% of this volume. To capture a share of this aggregated trading volume, sophisticated market makers developed "Dark AMMs"—smart contracts that allow them to provide liquidity while maintaining the confidentiality and flexibility associated with off-chain market making.
The development reflects crypto's ongoing balance between transparency and functionality. While blockchain's openness enables verification and composability, it also creates MEV (maximal extractable value) opportunities where bots front-run trades. Dark AMMs aim to solve this by providing confidential execution while maintaining on-chain settlement, potentially reducing slippage and protecting large traders from predatory behavior.
Evolving dynamics in digital asset markets
This week's developments highlight crypto's evolution into complementary institutional and retail markets. Corporate treasury adoption accelerates with clear regulatory frameworks, while competitive platform dynamics drive innovation in decentralized finance. For advisors and institutional allocators, these trends underscore crypto’s continued maturation into distinct asset classes, each with its own risk-return profile. The accelerating pace of change—from shifts in market leadership to growing treasury adoption—reinforces our view that digital assets warrant active management, not passive allocation.
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