Pump.fun just flipped a big switch. They call it Project Ascend. It pulls levers that change incentives across the whole PumpSwap ecosystem.
The goal is simple: make coins sustainable. Align creators and communities. And reward builders who actually help a project grow. This is not a tiny tweak. It’s a structural shift built around a new Creator Fees model.
To start: the headlines
- 10x more creator earnings via Dynamic Fees.
- 10x faster processing of CTO Creator Fee applications.
That’s the pitch. Short and bold. Pump.fun wants creators to earn more. And it wants decisions to happen faster. Both matter when a campaign, listing push, or creator collab is live.
https://twitter.com/pumpdotfun/status/1962916254240379341?s=19
The problem: fees didn’t scale with ambition
Creator Fees have already been useful. Teams use them for marketing. For content. For listings. For growth. They fund ads and streamers. They buy time and attention. But creators kept hitting the same wall: the old fee model didn’t raise enough capital to fund big, expensive moves. Running a startup is expensive. Viral campaigns cost real money. Exchange listings and PR pushes add up. Raising Creator Fees across the board would help creators short-term. But it would hurt traders and stunt long-term liquidity and adoption. The math didn’t work.
The solution: Dynamic Fees V1
Dynamic Fees V1 changes the geometry of fees. It’s a tiered Creator Fee structure keyed to market capitalization. The idea is elegantly simple: the higher the market cap, the lower the Creator Fee. Smaller projects that need runway pay higher creator fees; larger projects pay less. That creates a path: creators bootstrap early growth, then as the project scales the fee burden naturally eases. It’s growth-friendly by design.
This structure applies to all PumpSwap tokens, new and existing. That means communities already live on the platform can immediately benefit. They can retool their marketing plans, recruit creators, and scale faster under a predictable fee ladder. PumpSwap still sends the same cut to the protocol and to liquidity providers. Only the creator slice gets rebalanced by market-cap tier. For the full fee structure breakdown, go to pump.fun/docs/fees.
Why this matters for creators and communities
Short version: creating on Pump.fun gets way more attractive. The math changes incentives. Ten times more creator earnings means creators can invest in better content, sponsor bigger streams, and pay for listing costs when needed. That drives a virtuous cycle: better marketing → more users → higher market cap → lower future fees. Growth compounds.
Creators become entrepreneurs again. Not just meme promoters. Streamers, marketing shops, indie studios and startup teams will look at PumpSwap differently. Expect more bids for coin launches. Expect more professional teams onboarding. Pump.fun wants to be the platform creators choose when they want to scale seriously.
Protocol and LP fees: unchanged
A critical reassurance: the protocol fee and the LP fee allocations stay exactly the same. Pump.fun retained the fee flows that power the exchange and reward liquidity providers (including the burned LPs and autocompounding mechanics). This preserves market health and keeps incentives aligned for traders and LPs while unlocking more creator revenue. That split remains as documented in Pump.fun’s fee page.
A quick example (token data, short and direct)
Pump.fun now sits alongside tradable ecosystem tokens that the market watches. The primary platform token, Pump.fun (PUMP), appears on CoinMarketCap with live price and market-cap metrics—useful context when you model fee tiers or estimate creator income. CoinMarketCap lists Pump.fun with live-market data you can reference when sizing fees and forecasting growth.
CTOs, applications, and the 10x processing promise
Not every creator automatically earns Creator Fees. Pump.fun routes disputed or newly requested creator payouts through a CTO process. Project Ascend speeds those decisions up. They promise 10x faster processing for CTO Creator Fee applications, a small but pivotal change. In trenches moments, a live campaign, a sudden listing window, speed matters. Faster approvals mean creators can deploy budget when the window opens, not after it closes. The CTO application form lives on X; teams can submit directly.
If you think a creator doesn’t deserve fees on a coin you’ve taken over, you can submit a CTO application and petition to begin receiving Creator Fees for that coin. The faster processing times make these handovers less risky and more practical.
What this means for the Pump.fun ecosystem
This update signals a shift away from pure short-term pumps. It pushes toward sustained projects. Pump.fun positions itself as a hub for startups, streamers and communities on Solana. Expect more professional marketing. Expect bigger creators and more structured growth playbooks. Expect coins that graduate with stronger liquidity and more coherent narratives.
Put bluntly: it’s time for massive growth. Pump.fun aims to be the market leader for creators and projects that want scale and durability. That’s the promise of Project Ascend.
How to act (for creators, for traders)
Creators: plan for bigger campaigns. Model your burn. Use the new tiering to forecast revenue and to justify larger marketing spends early on.
Traders: watch the fee tiers. Higher creator fees on very small projects will fund growth, but they also increase short-term friction on trades. That’s the trade-off Pump.fun designs for long-term wins.
Developers and CTOs: if you manage coins, file a CTO application when a handover is real. Use the faster approvals to secure revenue streams and stabilize your token economics. Apply here.
Bottom line
Project Ascend is not incremental. It’s strategic. Dynamic Fees V1 aligns runway, reward and risk. It gives creators more capital when they need it. It eases the cost as projects grow. It keeps protocol and LP economics intact. If Pump.fun nails execution, we’ll see more serious creators building on Solana, not just one-off meme pumps, but projects that aim to last. That’s the future Project Ascend sells.
For the full technical breakdown of the fee tiers, visit pump.fun/docs/fees. If you want to apply for CTO Creator Fees, submit.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
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