On February 17, 2026, Pump.fun, the Solana-based memecoin launchpad, introduced Cashback Coins, a feature that sends rewards to traders rather than the people who launched the token. For a platform built around creator incentives, that’s a pretty sharp U-turn.
Looks like memecoins dying is no longer just crypto Twitter drama. It’s becoming a real conversation backed by hard data. And now, the biggest memecoin launchpad in the game is making its move to fight back.
Are Memecoins Dying?
Pump.fun pulled in $148.1 million in fees in January 2025. Fast forward exactly one year, and that figure crashed to just $31.8 million, according to DeFiLlama data. That’s a 75.6% drop in revenue year over year. February 2026 looks even worse, with only $15.6 million so far.
So yeah, if you’re asking whether memecoins dying is a legitimate fear, the revenue charts say yes.
And it’s not just about platform revenue. Dune Analytics data shows that out of 58.7 million wallets that touched Pump.fun, only about 4.76 million ever profited between $1,000 and $10,000. Less than 13,700 wallets hit millionaire status. The math is brutal for retail.
Also Read: Are Memecoins Making a Comeback in 2026?
What Pump.fun’s Cashback Coins Actually Do
Before launching a token, creators must now choose between two models: Creator Fees or Trader Cashback. Once that choice is locked in, it cannot be changed. Pump.fun’s own statement on X put it plainly: “Now, traders can choose to engage with tokens they feel the most aligned with, ultimately letting the market decide who gets rewarded.”
Creator fees gave token launchers 0.3% of all fees generated. That model made sense when there was a project team behind the token. But many successful memecoins have no team. No roadmap. No lead. The old model kept paying deployers who didn’t really earn it.
Cashback Coins flips that logic. Rewards go to the people actually trading. The feature is live exclusively through Terminal, Pump.fun’s built-in trading platform.
Not Everyone Is Cheering
Some community members aren’t fully sold on the change.
One X user raised a valid point: if creators no longer earn fees during the coin’s peak volume phase (while still on Pump.fun before graduating), they have less reason to keep pushing their projects. That could lead to even more rug pulls and abandoned tokens, ironically making the memecoins dying problem worse.
It’s a fair concern. Incentive structures shape behavior. Pump.fun is betting that better trader incentives will attract more engaged communities, not lazy devs.
Also Read: How To Launch a Token On Pump.fun: A Complete Beginners Guide
Coinbase’s Base Goes the Other Way
While Pump.fun is adapting, Coinbase’s Base did the opposite.
On February 10, Base shut down its Creator Rewards program entirely. The program had paid around $450,000 to 17,000 creators over seven months. Average earnings? About $26 per creator. Not exactly a success story.
Base’s retreat is another data point in the broader memecoins dying narrative that’s been dominating crypto discourse lately.
Is This Actually a Bottom Signal?
On-chain analytics firm Santiment offered an interesting take last week. Their analysts noted that memecoins are showing signs of a potential market bottom. Their argument: when an entire sector gets written off publicly, it’s often a classic capitulation signal. Contrarian investors start paying attention exactly at these moments.
Is Pump.fun’s update the catalyst that revives the sector? Too early to call. But it’s clear the platform isn’t sitting still while memecoins dying becomes the dominant narrative.
Also Read: Pump.fun Price Prediction. Can PUMP Hit $0.1 In 2026?
What are Cashback Coins on Pump.fun?
Cashback Coins reward traders instead of token creators. Traders earn cashback on every trade made through the Terminal platform.
Is Pump.fun losing money?
Its fees dropped 75.6% from January 2025 to January 2026, going from $148.1M to $31.8M, according to DeFiLlama.
Can creators switch between fee models?
No. Once a creator picks Creator Fees or Trader Cashback before launch, the choice is permanent.
Does the memecoin market have a future?
Santiment analysts suggest the current sentiment could be a capitulation bottom, historically a setup for recovery.
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Disclaimer:
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