Solana & Pump.fun Business Model is Scam Coins

Back in 2017, during the height of the ICO craze, the crypto world was a mix of innovation and deception. While scams were rampant, many legitimate projects emerged as entrepreneurs sought to leverage this new funding model and technology to create innovative solutions.

Projects often announced their initiatives on crypto forums like AltcoinsTalks and Bitcointalk, where they detailed their visions and frequently introduced their teams. They also used bounties as a way to promote these projects within the crypto community. In response, crypto enthusiasts analyzed the ideas, provided feedback and criticism, and even warned others about potential scams.

This era gave rise to new terms like DYOR (“Do Your Own Research”). Back then, people actively researched the projects they were investing in, taking a more hands-on approach to due diligence.

Fast forward to today, we have ecosystems like Solana and numerous players backing it behind the scenes (e.g., CoinMarketCap, Bitget, etc.). Unfortunately, in this environment, scams have become the norm rather than the exception. On Solana, tokens are often expected to “rug pull” by default, and platforms like Pump.fun have made it so easy that even 13-year-olds can now orchestrate scams.

How Did Crypto Stray So Far?

How did we go from building the future of technology to blindly throwing money at hyped tokens and praying they don’t crash within 24 hours?

The SEC’s Role

The SEC shoulders part of the blame. Its aggressive crackdown on ICOs scared off legitimate entrepreneurs who were trying to build the future of blockchain. This left the door wide open for anonymous scammers to flood the space with meme tokens designed solely to make quick money.

Solana’s Ecosystem and Its Partners

Platforms also share responsibility for enabling these scams. Pump.fun, for instance, makes it ridiculously simple for anyone—even a teenager—to launch a scam token. The platform’s name alone reflects its embrace of “degen” culture. Similarly, platforms like CoinMarketCap promote these ecosystems by showcasing “top-gaining” scam coins, effectively helping them attract more victims before inevitably dumping or rug-pulling.

Solana’s Deliberate Path

In my opinion, the greatest responsibility lies with Solana itself. The blockchain appears to actively support a meme/scam coin ecosystem, knowing full well the financial harm it causes to users. Other blockchains with low fees, like Tron, could have followed a similar path but chose to maintain a cleaner reputation. Solana, however, seems to have embraced the frenzy of scam coins, potentially using it as a strategy for growth.

The association with figures like Sam Bankman-Fried, a known supporter of Solana, only further taints its moral compass. For many, his involvement alone is a red flag that speaks volumes about the ethical direction of the chain.

How Many Meme Coins Are Too Many?

There was a time when meme coins had meaning—Dogecoin, for example, was the first and was tied to the popular Doge meme, giving it a genuine cultural significance. But today, the market sees 50,000 new tokens a day, all pretending to be meme coins. Most lack any real connection to memes or utility and exist solely to scam people before rug-pulling.

At this point, these tokens should no longer be called meme coins. They are scam coins, and their prevalence is harming the crypto industry. This is not the future that the crypto community envisioned or needs.