Pump.fun Acquires Padre Trading Terminal as Memecoin Market Cools

Pump.fun has acquired Padre, a trading terminal operating across Solana, Ethereum, BNB Chain, and Base, which controls about 5% of the Solana trading bot market. This acquisition is part of Pump.fun's strategy to vertically integrate the memecoin ecosystem, adding trading tools to its existing token launchpad and trader-tracking tool (Kolscan).

Pump.fun co-founder Alon Cohen stated the move aims to capture more volume by owning a trading terminal, mirroring their earlier successful integration of PumpSwap. The acquisition comes as the broader memecoin market struggles, with Pump.fun's market share declining from 75% to 44% and monthly revenue dropping significantly from its January peak.

Market reaction was divergent: Pump.fun's PUMP token rose following the news, while Padre's PADRE token crashed by 78-80% after Pump.fun confirmed the token would have no future utility, leading to accusations of a 'rug pull' from angry token holders. This highlights the risk associated with trading terminal tokens, as their utility often vanishes upon acquisition. Pump.fun now faces ongoing regulatory scrutiny, including lawsuits and a previous warning from the UK's FCA, as it consolidates infrastructure to weather the market downturn.

(Source：Brave New Coin)