BonkBot Adjusts Meme Coin Incentives for Traders With $200K Reward as Pump.fun Retains Creator Fees

BonkFun has introduced a new incentive framework targeting traders, a significant evolution in how Solana's meme coin launchpads reward participants. Alongside rival Pump.fun, which is also modifying its structure, BonkFun's changes aim to enhance the trading experience and boost engagement among active traders.

Key Takeaways

BonkFun launched a new initiative called “Winners Arc,” offering $200,000 weekly to the top traders on USD1 pairs via Axiom Exchange.
The updated structure prioritizes trading skills rather than creator fees, marking a shift in incentives toward traders.
Pump.fun, in contrast, is enhancing its focus on creator economics, with new features but no removal of creator fees.
This strategic divergence highlights a competitive landscape among meme launchpads as they seek to engage their respective user bases.

BonkFun Shifts Incentives to Focus on Profitable Trading

BonkFun has officially launched a new incentive structure that caters specifically to traders, indicating a significant change in how Solana’s meme coin launchpads are functioning. This update is part of a growing trend among meme launchpads, as competing platforms like Pump.fun are also introducing their own adjustments.

The new features announced on X include “Winners Arc,” a weekly trading competition where $200,000 will be awarded to the most successful traders handling supported USD1 pairs through Axiom Exchange. Unlike previous frameworks that favored creators, this program ranks participants based on their achieved profits and directly compensates the top 50 traders each week.

Reworking Incentives: A Move Towards Trader-Centric Rewards

This initiative carefully outlines that traders working with supported USD1 pairs during the reward period must end the week with positive realized profits (PnL) to be eligible for the rewards. The substantial prize pool, paired with the emphasis on trading expertise over token creation, signifies a clear pivot in BonkFun's focus.

BonkFun's COO, Tom, described this launch as a vital step towards prioritizing traders, a mantra that has increasingly defined the platform's recent communication. He emphasized the company's commitment to addressing previous structural issues, particularly those surrounding creator fees.

User feedback has been mixed; some users appreciate the return of a leaderboard that enhances performance visibility, while others humorously contemplate a shift back to nearly continuous trading habits. Recently, BonkFun also introduced "BONK Classic," featuring zero creator fees and a reduced 0.30% swap fee, primarily allocated back to liquidity.

Moreover, BonkFun has maintained the alternative option of “BONKERS” launches, where creator fees may be higher but trading costs are lower, giving communities a choice between trader-focused and creator-centric economics.

Strategic Divergence: Traders at BonkFun vs. Creators at Pump.fun

The shift towards a trader-centric approach by BonkFun stands in sharp contrast to Pump.fun’s strategy, which remains anchored in creator-centric economics, despite new feature introductions.

Earlier this month, Pump.fun revamped its creator fee model, enabling fee distribution across multiple wallets while adjusting the scaling based on market capitalization. Despite recognizing that past incentives overly favored low-risk token creation, Pump.fun has opted not to eliminate creator fees entirely.

Data reveals a distinct difference between the two platforms: in the past 24 hours, Pump.fun saw over 24,500 tokens created, while BonkFun had approximately 3,290.

In addition, Pump.fun led in key metrics, including volume, active addresses, and fee generation, by considerable margins. However, BonkFun's recent changes seem to target less on sheer issuance and more on attracting seasoned traders through streamlined operations and direct incentives.

The evolving landscape of meme coin launchpads indicates a strategic but nuanced shift. BonkFun appears to be banking on the idea that rewarding traders while reducing creator extraction will help reinvigorate trading engagement. Meanwhile, Pump.fun continues to prioritize its creator-driven model, introducing features that support funding, community interaction, and structural improvements.

While competition between the two platforms is not overt, differing incentive models are reshaping the meme coin launchpad ecosystem, subtly influencing how users evaluate their engagement options.