Pump.fun changed how tokens launch on Solana. PumpSwap changed how token creators earn after launch. With the introduction of creator revenue sharing, deployers who graduate tokens through the bonding curve now earn ongoing fees from every swap on PumpSwap — not just from the initial launch event. This is a fundamental shift from the old model where creators had zero economic incentive to support a token after graduation.
How the Bonding Curve Phase Works
Every token launched on pump.fun starts on a bonding curve. The curve holds roughly 800 million tokens and releases them to buyers as SOL flows in. The price increases along the curve — early buyers pay less, later buyers pay more.
During the bonding curve phase, pump.fun charges a 1% fee on every buy and sell transaction. This fee goes entirely to the pump.fun protocol. Token creators do not earn fees during this phase. If you have not launched or traded on the platform before, our complete beginner guide to using Pump.fun covers the whole flow from wallet connection to first buy.
The bonding curve fills when approximately 85 SOL has been deposited. The exact dollar-value threshold fluctuates with the SOL price — it is not a fixed USD market cap. At current SOL prices, graduation happens at roughly $60,000-80,000 implied market cap.
Once the curve fills, graduation triggers automatically. There is no manual process, no voting, and no delay.
What Happens at Graduation
When a token graduates, it migrates from pump.fun's internal bonding curve to PumpSwap — pump.fun's own automated market maker. This is a critical distinction: tokens no longer migrate to Raydium. PumpSwap is a separate DEX operated by pump.fun, and it is where creator revenue sharing happens.
During graduation, the remaining tokens and SOL from the bonding curve are deposited into a PumpSwap liquidity pool. This creates an open market where anyone can buy or sell the token at market prices, just like any other AMM pool.
The migration is seamless from a user perspective. If you hold tokens bought on the bonding curve, they are the same tokens trading on PumpSwap. Your balance does not change.
PumpSwap Fee Structure
Every swap on PumpSwap incurs a 0.25% fee. This fee is split between two parties:
- Liquidity providers (LPs) — the portion of the fee that goes to anyone providing liquidity to the pool
- Protocol and creator — the remaining portion is split between the pump.fun protocol and the token creator
The exact split between protocol and creator has evolved since PumpSwap launched. As of early 2026, the creator revenue share means a meaningful portion of every swap fee flows back to the wallet that originally deployed the token on pump.fun.
This creates a direct economic incentive for creators to build tokens that generate sustained trading volume. A token that graduates and then trades $50,000/day in volume generates ongoing income for the creator — not a one-time event.
How Much Can Creators Actually Earn?
The numbers depend entirely on sustained trading volume. Here are realistic scenarios based on observed PumpSwap activity:
Low-Volume Token
- Daily volume: $10,000
- Total swap fees (0.25%): $25/day
- Creator share (estimated): $3-5/day
- Monthly creator revenue: ~$90-150
Medium-Volume Token
- Daily volume: $100,000
- Total swap fees (0.25%): $250/day
- Creator share (estimated): $30-50/day
- Monthly creator revenue: ~$900-1,500
High-Volume Token
- Daily volume: $1,000,000
- Total swap fees (0.25%): $2,500/day
- Creator share (estimated): $300-500/day
- Monthly creator revenue: ~$9,000-15,000
- Daily volume: $10,000,000+
- Total swap fees (0.25%): $25,000+/day
- Creator share (estimated): $3,000-5,000+/day
- Monthly creator revenue: ~$90,000-150,000+
The critical variable is sustained volume. Most memecoins see a volume spike at graduation, a smaller spike if they catch a narrative, and then declining volume as attention moves elsewhere. Tokens that maintain cultural relevance, active communities, or utility keep volume higher for longer.
