Pump.fun co-founder outlines near-zero-fee app for token distribution

Pump.fun co-founder Alon Cohen laid out the strategic vision for the platform’s mobile and social trading app on September 29, describing a fee structure that effectively rounds to zero on Solana trades. The pitch is straightforward: make trading so cheap that fees stop being a reason anyone hesitates to hit the buy button.

Cohen emphasized that the app is designed to boost the visibility and distribution of tokens launched on Pump.fun, but not at the expense of walling off competing ecosystems. Users should be able to chase “any opportunity onchain,” he said, regardless of which chain or launchpad minted the token.

The fee breakdown

On Solana, the platform targets approximately 0% trading fees. For crosschain trades, fees sit at roughly 0.1%. Some prior reporting on Pump.fun’s fee structure has cited rates as low as 0.05% in certain contexts, suggesting the platform has been inching toward this near-zero destination for a while.

Token creation on the platform remains free as well, excluding the standard network fees that Solana charges for any on-chain transaction. The bonding curve model that Pump.fun uses for token launches, where price rises algorithmically as more tokens are purchased, stays intact.

Incentive programs and creator economics

A creator fee-sharing system, announced on January 9, 2026, allows token creators to split fees among up to 10 wallets. The intent is to rebalance incentives so that building on Pump.fun feels financially rewarding for the people actually launching projects, not just for the platform itself.

The callout rewards program has distributed $11 million in under six weeks as of late September 2026.

Cohen’s public messaging reveals a deliberate attempt to align incentives across three groups: traders who want cheap execution, creators who want distribution, and the platform itself which needs volume to survive on near-zero margins.

From memecoin factory to crosschain trading app

Pump.fun launched on January 19, 2024, and quickly became synonymous with the Solana memecoin explosion. The platform made it trivially easy to create and trade tokens, which predictably resulted in thousands of launches, most of which went nowhere, and a handful that generated life-changing returns for early buyers.

The PUMP token ICO in July 2025 raised approximately $1.3 billion, a figure that cemented the platform’s position as one of the most commercially successful crypto startups of the cycle.

Cohen’s insistence that the platform won’t block access to tokens on other chains or launchpads is worth noting. Some competitors have taken the opposite approach, creating walled gardens that prioritize their own token launches.