Vamping

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Pump.fun locks creator fees after “vamping” drains trust on Solana, industry reaction snowballs

As a crypto investor, I’ve been following Pump.fun closely, and they’ve just announced a change to how fees work. Creators will now only be able to switch the wallet receiving fees *once* after their project launches. They’re doing this to crack down on what they call ‘vamping’ – basically, people quickly swapping out fee wallets to scam investors – especially on Solana. It comes at a time when Pump.fun’s revenue is dropping, and a lot of people in the crypto space are asking for everyone to work together to make things fairer and more secure.

Summary

  • Pump.fun co-founder Alon Cohen announced a protocol update on March 24 that limits token creators to one post-launch change of their fee recipient wallet.
  • The move came in direct response to widespread “vamping” — a practice where creators redirected fees to their own wallets after tokens gained traction, undercutting buyers.
  • The update drew over 396,000 views on X and sparked a public industry call to action from prominent Solana figures to collectively eliminate the behavior.

Pump.fun, the leading platform for launching memecoins on Solana, announced a major change on March 24th to address concerns about creators unfairly changing fees after launch. This update limits creators to a single fee adjustment post-launch, aiming to rebuild trust among users. Co-founder Alon Cohen (@a1lon9 on X) announced the change in a popular post that has received over 396,200 views, 2,600 likes, and 479 retweets.

Pump.fun reacts to curb ‘vamping’

According to Cohen, the core issue stemmed from how pump.fun was designed. Each token launched on the platform has a Coin Admin who manages the creator fees – deciding who receives them, how they’re shared, and in what amounts. Previously, these Coin Admins could change these settings as often as they wanted. This lack of limits allowed for manipulation, as described by Cohen. The typical scenario involved launching a token with fees initially directed to a third party to build trust and gain popularity, then secretly changing those fees to benefit themselves. This practice ultimately led to user frustration, loss of momentum for the token, and damage to its reputation, as Cohen explained.

The recent update is straightforward but important. Now, when a new digital token is created, standard creator fees are automatically applied. The creator has only one chance to change where those fees go. Once they make that change (or choose not to), the settings are permanent. As explained by Cohen, if a creator sends the fees to a different account, that’s how it stays. If they don’t change the settings right away, they still have the option to do so later. This update also applies to existing tokens – any tokens already distributing fees have had their settings locked in place.

Industry Calls for Coordinated Response

The announcement sparked a strong reaction within the Solana community, with one post quickly gaining over 215,000 views. Prominent Solana trader @SolportTom used X (formerly Twitter) to urge major trading platforms to address the issue of “vamps” – likely referring to malicious bots or front-running tactics. He stated the need for collaboration, even if it meant sacrificing some short-term profits, arguing that a healthier ecosystem would be more sustainable in the long run. He directly called on platforms like Axiom Exchange and Trading Terminal to participate, emphasizing that a better environment would ultimately benefit everyone.

The recent reaction highlights a growing concern on pump.fun, a platform where anyone can quickly create and trade memecoins on Solana. Users have repeatedly criticized the platform’s fees, arguing they unfairly benefit coin creators rather than traders. Earlier this year, pump.fun changed its fee system after realizing the original version unintentionally encouraged people to create new coins instead of actively trading them – which is essential for the platform’s success.

Platform Revenue Still Under Pressure

This update comes at a challenging time for the platform financially. While pump.fun broadened its offerings beyond memecoins in March – adding support for assets like WBTC, USDC, and Ethereum through Wormhole – and has exceeded 1.5 million app downloads, its revenue and monthly trading activity are still significantly lower than they were in early 2025. The platform once generated $15.38 million in fees in a single day, but that number has dropped considerably. Even the person behind the update, Cohen, admits this is just a small improvement towards solving a much bigger issue. He thanked the hundreds of traders who have provided valuable feedback in recent months.

Solana (SOL) is currently worth $92.17, and its price has increased by 3.29% in the last day, according to data from crypto.news.

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2026-03-25 18:13