Dialogue with Sun Yuchen: The second half of the Meme Launchpad competition, the rules of the game have changed

Author: Arain, ChainCatcher

Editor: Marco, ChainCatcher

The leading project of Meme Launchpad, PumpFun, has generated nearly $100 million in revenue within six months with just a three-person team, and the project has not raised any funds------this business narrative is so compelling that a batch of PumpFun projects have sprung up like mushrooms after rain. However, none have been able to shake PumpFun's position.

On August 13, TRON announced its entry into the Meme space, supporting its first fair launch meme coin platform, SunPump, attracting a large number of memes to the platform through gas fee reductions, subsidies, and incentives. About a week after SunPump went live, on August 22, according to Dune data, SunPump's revenue surpassed that of PumpFun. Justin Sun stated on platform X that SunPump has reached 30-40% of PumpFun's current traffic.

What factors led TRON to choose this timing to enter the Meme Launchpad space? Is the emergence of SunPump aimed at increasing traffic alongside PumpFun, or is it diverting traffic away from PumpFun?

In this regard, ChainCatcher had an exclusive conversation with TRON founder Justin Sun. He stated that the current market is sluggish, and memes are one of the few exciting narratives, but the Meme Launchpad space is currently still a game of existing stock. If we want to bring in new growth, the platform needs to have sufficiently low launch costs, deep liquidity, and even trading flexibility.

Here is the full dialogue:

ChainCatcher: Why choose to support the Meme Launchpad at this time?

Justin Sun: The current market is influenced by macro factors, and risk capital remains in a wait-and-see state. Aside from the positive news of the Ethereum ETF approval, which has just brought in some incremental funds, other altcoin capital is still fleeing. As for the wonderful narratives of this bull market so far, those that should have been hyped have already been hyped. Many projects have failed to achieve their subsequent milestones, and the poor token economic models have caused many retail investors to suffer losses. In this sluggish market, we chose to reignite the fire of memes, hoping to inject new vitality into the stagnant market through TRON's efforts and initiatives. In this situation, nothing in the industry can create exciting narratives in a short time like memes.

ChainCatcher: What advantages does SunPump have compared to some new Meme Launchpads on the market?

Justin Sun: I believe that those who have experienced SunPump should have a deep understanding. SunPump, as a platform focused on fair issuance and trading of meme coins, provides creators with a convenient and extremely low-cost way to issue their meme coins in a safe and user-friendly environment with just one click. This innovative platform will enhance user engagement and promote a more autonomous trading experience. SunPump combines user-friendliness, fairness, and transparency. Its operational mechanism simplifies the issuance and trading of tokens, allowing users to easily browse and select meme coins on the platform. The joint curve pricing mechanism provides users with a direct and transparent way to purchase tokens. SunPump also offers flexible trading options, allowing users to sell their tokens at any time.

ChainCatcher: With a batch of PumpFun competitors coming, do you think the new Meme Launchpad will bring in new growth or just be a game of existing stock?

Justin Sun: Actually, the logic of this question still needs to focus on the entire market rather than just the meme sector. Given the relatively sluggish investment sentiment, new launchers will only divert existing funds. If newcomers lack sustained economic incentives and innovative gameplay, it will be difficult for them to survive in the long run.

If we want to bring in new growth, then the platform needs to have sufficiently low launch costs, deep liquidity, and even trading flexibility. Looking at the entire industry ecosystem, there are not many teams that can meet all three of these criteria to be launchers.

ChainCatcher: What do you think is the relationship between SunPump and PumpFun? Additionally, what is the biggest difference between SunPump and PumpFun?

Justin Sun: In my view, PumpFun is more like a pioneer, guiding us in perfecting the platform. From an ecological perspective, I believe we are actually two different ecosystems, with different underlying infrastructures and business logic. Of course, there is a possibility that we may collaborate or even compete in the future.

As for our biggest difference, I think we are still newcomers. SunPump relies on PumpFun's concept to refine the upper-level business logic, maximizing participants' benefits and minimizing their costs. In other words, compared to Solana, TRON plays a more critical role as the core entity supporting SunPump's traffic, whether it's the gas fee subsidy plan, the multi-million dollar incentive plan, or a series of partner resources, which are not available in the PumpFun ecosystem.

ChainCatcher: What is SunPump's current business goal?

Justin Sun: SunPump's current business goal is to become the preferred platform for the issuance and trading of meme coins, promoting the prosperous development of the meme ecosystem.

TRON, through its strong infrastructure, provides rich liquidity support for meme token creators. Thanks to its large user base and efficient asset circulation mechanism, TRON has over 2 million active users daily and more than $60 billion in USDT circulation, laying a solid foundation for the development of meme coins in terms of liquidity and traffic. Additionally, TRON's blockchain architecture inherently possesses the ability to prevent MEV attacks, creating a secure trading environment.

To optimize user experience, TRON has designed an intuitive and user-friendly interface and provides 24/7 instant response services, ensuring that users, whether newcomers or veterans, can easily use the platform, and that technical support and feedback needs can be met promptly. At the same time, TRON has launched several incentive measures, including a gas fee subsidy plan of up to 99% and an 888 TRX airdrop reward for creators, which can be unlocked when the bonding curve of the meme coins created by users reaches 100%.

Moreover, TRON has also jointly launched a $10 million meme ecosystem incentive plan with SunPump to provide resources for newly issued tokens. To further promote project development, TRON offers a one-click listing plan for early projects, allowing projects that meet trading volume thresholds to be quickly listed on exchanges like HTX and Poloniex.

ChainCatcher: Could you elaborate on the $10 million meme ecosystem incentive plan?

Justin Sun: The $10 million meme ecosystem incentive plan is a significant initiative launched in collaboration between SunPump and TRON, aimed at vigorously promoting the development of the meme ecosystem.

First, this incentive plan adopts a multi-dimensional evaluation framework. It will comprehensively consider multiple factors to determine the level of support for projects, such as market capitalization, user activity, community engagement, creativity, and overall impact. Through such comprehensive consideration, it ensures that projects with real potential and value receive focused support.

Secondly, the goal of the plan is to strategically allocate this $10 million funding support to the projects with the highest potential for success. This will provide strong financial assistance for the development of meme coin projects, helping project teams increase investment in technology research and development, market promotion, and community building, accelerating project growth.

At the same time, the plan also emphasizes community-driven growth. By incentivizing community members to actively participate in the construction and promotion of projects, a good community ecosystem is formed, jointly promoting the prosperous development of the meme coin market.

Additionally, the $10 million funding investment will attract more developers and creators to join the meme ecosystem, further enriching and expanding this ecosystem, providing users with more quality meme coin project options.

ChainCatcher: Can you share any operational data since the launch? What are your summaries and evaluations of the current operational data?

Justin Sun: In the first week after launch, the number of created projects reached 12,528, with revenue reaching 4.36 million TRX, demonstrating that the platform achieved good economic benefits in a short period.

Through a decentralized approach, the protocol's revenue is used to buy back and burn SUN tokens, providing long-term value feedback to protocol participants. This mechanism not only enhances users' confidence in the platform but also contributes to the platform's sustainable development.

We will continue to work hard to optimize platform functions, enhance user experience, strengthen cooperation with partners, and further promote the prosperous development of the meme ecosystem. At the same time, we will closely monitor market dynamics and user needs, continuously adjusting and improving our strategies.