Solana-based memecoin launchpad Pump.fun has rolled out a new feature that moves rewards to memecoin traders instead of deployers. It’s a tweak to a fee model that once generated more than $15 million in a single day at its peak.
In a post to X on Tuesday, Pump.fun said meme coin creators on the platform can now decide whether their tokens are “truly worth receiving” creator fees or whether it is best to redirect rewards to traders who engage with the tokens through “cashback coins.”
Pump.fun’s original model features creator fees, with token creators receiving 0.3% of all fees generated by the tokens they issue.
However, Pump.fun stated that not all tokens are worthy of creator fees, as many have achieved success without a team or project leader, thus disproportionately rewarding token adopters.
Creator fees need to be changed. Not all tokens are worth creator fees.
Users can now decide whether a token is truly worth the creator fee, or if it makes more sense to reward traders who engage with the token.
Cashback coins are currently available to the public. Learn more 👇 pic.twitter.com/UbYoAbQ1Ya
— Pump.fun (@Pumpfun) February 17, 2026
“Traders can now choose to utilize the tokens that feel best to them, and ultimately let the market decide who gets rewarded and where to set the bar.”
Pump.fun said coin creators will need to choose between a creator fee model or a trader cashback model before launch. Once selected, the decision cannot be undone.
According to Terminal, the crypto trading platform built into Pump.fun, cashback coins are generated every time a transaction is made and can only be accessed through Terminal.
This comes after analysts at on-chain analytics firm Santiment said on Friday that meme coins are showing signs of a potential bottom.
“The collective acceptance of the ‘end of the meme era’ is a classic signal of capitulation,” Santiment said, explaining that when a sector of the market is completely written off, it’s often a “contrarian time” to start paying attention.
Pump.fun fees are lower than last year
Pump.fun’s new rewards feature comes after the company recorded $31.8 million worth of fees in January. This was a 75.6% decrease from the platform’s best-ever performance of $148.1 million in January 2025.
Pump.fun has generated $15.6 million in revenue so far in February, falling short of January’s total.
The change in compensation model also follows months of criticism that only a small number of traders on Pump.fun are making profits while the majority of retail traders are losing money.
According to data from Dune Analytics, of the 58.7 million crypto wallets that interacted with Pump.fun, only $4.76 million earned profits between $1,000 and $10,000, while 969,780 wallets recorded winnings between $10,000 and $100,000.
Less than 13,700 Pump.fun wallets have reached millionaire status on this platform.
While this new feature was well-received by many in the Pump.fun community, others, such as X user Coos, wondered if the reward model could reduce incentives for developers to launch new coins.
“Therefore, there is not much reason for developers to push the coin for long, as the most profitable time is when the coin is still in PF and has just graduated to the point of highest volume.”
Coinbase’s Base has stopped offering Creator Rewards
Pump.fun has changed its compensation model, while other companies have stopped their reward programs altogether.
On February 10th, Coinbase’s Base App discontinued its Creator Rewards program as part of a strategic shift to focus entirely on tradable assets.
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The Creator Rewards program was launched in July and aimed to make Base, Coinbase’s Ethereum layer 2, a more social ecosystem where activity leads to revenue.
The Base App
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