Memecoin launchpad Pump.fun is introducing a new investment arm focused on supporting promising startups, marking a significant shift from its primary focus on memecoins.
Pump.fun announced on Monday the launch of Pump Fund, coinciding with a $3 million hackathon designed to provide $250,000 in funding to 12 selected projects, each valued at $10 million.
The new investment arm intends to provide long-term support for projects that are not necessarily crypto-related, offering mentorship from the founders of Pump.fun.
This initiative comes at a time when trading volumes on Pump.fun have decreased from their early 2025 peaks, which were driven by a surge in memecoin trading activity.
Pump.fun stated that its new investment arm will back projects across various stages of development, industries, and traction levels, with a particular emphasis on teams that demonstrate rapid execution and transparent communication of their plans.
The platform added that beyond product and social traction, the long-term viability of a project will be a key assessment factor.
The hackathon, scheduled to run for 30 days, will involve participants creating a token and sharing project updates. The market will ultimately determine the success of these projects.
Pump.fun explained that tokenization allows the market to serve as the judge, rather than traditional judges or venture capitalists, enabling users to directly fund projects they believe in by investing early.
Demand for “good founders” remains exceptionally high
Alon Cohen, co-founder of Pump.fun, commented on X that the numerous trends observed in crypto over the past three years highlight a consistently high demand for capable founders from both traders and long-term investors, irrespective of market conditions.
He noted that projects began launching tokens because users were eager to invest in new ideas with the potential for success, recognizing that millions of individuals could become both users and investors.
Cohen further explained that instant liquidity enabled projects to secure funding more readily. This led to the emergence of artificial intelligence projects within the crypto space, demonstrating to builders and traders the significant opportunities available in tokenizing early-stage ventures.
Pump.fun trading volumes have decreased from their peak
Trading volumes on Pump.fun have seen a decline since reaching their highest point in late 2024 and early 2025.
According to Token Terminal, Pump.fun's monthly trading volume reached an all-time high of $11.75 billion in January 2025, achieving this milestone within a year of its launch.
Since then, monthly trading volumes have experienced a steady decrease. In December, the platform's trading volumes amounted to $2.43 billion, as speculative assets like memecoins became less appealing to traders amidst a challenging year for the broader market.