The RAY, Raydium’s inherent token, saw a rise of more than 12% on Wednesday after the decentralized exchange revealed the creation of a fresh token launchpad.
An unknown contributor named Infra revealed on X that the LaunchLabs platform will allow anyone to introduce cryptocurrencies on Solana.
While this move puts Raydium in direct rivalry with Pump.fun, the well-known platform behind many of Solana’s meme coins, Infra sees LaunchLabs in a different light.
According to Infra, the platform will “reproduce” Pump.fun’s user interface but won’t be a fork.
“This isn’t about taking Pump users; it’s about improving Solana,” Infra stated on X.
> 7/ We are not competing with launch platforms that are currently using Raydium – LaunchLab makes it easier for teams to launch on-chain, offering neutral, permissionless infrastructure.
>
> Our goal is to empower the Solana ecosystem, not to gatekeep.
Raydium has chosen not to comment further on Infra’s posts on X.
## Solana Project Friction
LaunchLabs represents the most recent development in the growing tension between Raydium and Pump.fun.
The two Solana projects are closely connected.
Tokens introduced on Pump.fun can start trading on Raydium once they reach a market capitalization of $69,000, generating fees for the exchange.
According to Dune Analytics, this has been a benefit for Raydium, with Pump.fun tokens accounting for 40% of the exchange’s volume today.
DeFiLlama data shows that the exchange has generated over $30 million in trading fees over the last 30 days.
* According to one developer, LaunchLabs will resemble Pump.fun but is intended to be “more general.”
* This action is the most recent in a string of disagreements between Raydium and Pump.fun.
In recent times, friction has been escalating between Pump.fun and Raydium. Back in February, it came to light that Pump.fun was testing its personal internal trading setup, hinting at a departure from Raydium.
This revelation triggered a sharp decline of over 20% in RAY tokens.
Infra, a significant player at Raydium, slammed Pump.fun’s moves as a “strategic blunder,” emphasizing the vital part Raydium has for the meme coin site. XRP Lawyer Says Saylor’s Bitcoin Plan Could Make Him World’s Richest Person
Pump.fun hasn’t formally verified the creation of its own marketplace yet. Alon Cohen, one of the people who started Pump.fun, hasn’t replied to requests for comments.
**Raydium’s “Simple Decision”**
Stakeholders are celebrating LaunchLabs as a huge victory for Raydium.
Richard Galvin, the head of Digital Asset Capital Management, mentioned that this was an obvious choice for RAY.
He further said that Pump.fun blundered by attempting to rival Raydium, which is ideally situated to introduce a meme coin platform with reduced rivalry and cheaper costs.
*This article was put together by Liam Kelly, a journalist working in Berlin for DL News. Do you have a suggestion? Send him an email at [email protected].*
