Solana Memecoin Launchpad Landscape Changes Dramatically: New Challenger Rises

In the field of memecoin issuance platforms on the Solana chain, a power shift is underway. The once-dominant leader is now out of favor, as new challengers rapidly rise to capture a significant share of the market. This is not only another manifestation of volatility in the crypto world but also a classic case of empire collapse. When neglecting attention becomes the ultimate moat, even the greatest first-mover advantage can vanish in an instant.

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The Rise and Fall of the Former Dominator

The once-dominant platform was launched by three young people in their 20s in January 2024, with a single statement that subverted the issuance logic of meme coins: "Upload a picture, give it a name, click a few times, and you can issue a coin, costing less than $2, with no code required." It satisfied a fundamental impulse to turn "worthless" into "valuable." By January 2025, the platform generated over $458 million in revenue, with thousands of new coins going online daily, and peak daily revenue exceeding $7 million.

However, the tragedy began with one of its most innovative features: live streaming. Originally intended to allow token issuers to promote their tokens, things quickly spiraled out of control. Starting in November 2024, some users engaged in extreme behavior during live streams to gain attention, including simulating self-harm and threatening suicide. The platform was forced to urgently shut down the live streaming feature, but its reputation had already suffered a severe blow. Weekly revenue plummeted by 66% in an instant, public opinion turned against them, and competitors began to take advantage of the situation.

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Faced with declining revenues and competitive pressure, the platform made a seemingly smart but ultimately fatal decision: to self-rescue by issuing tokens (ICO). Although it was technically considered a success, the token distribution and unlocking mechanisms sparked controversy. After initially soaring, the token price quickly cooled down, dropping 60% within weeks, exhibiting a typical "death spiral" trend.

The last straw was when the co-founder publicly announced that the long-promised airdrop "will not happen in the foreseeable future." This decision triggered a strong backlash at the moment when community trust was most fragile.

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The Rise of New Challengers

As the former dominant player continues to stumble, new challengers are quietly building everything that their competitors lack: transparency, community orientation, and clear communication. Currently, the new platform's daily revenue has reached $1.3 million, which is five times that of its predecessor. From nearly zero in May to consistently breaking the million-dollar mark in July, the new platform's revenue has steadily increased. Meanwhile, the former dominant player's revenue has plummeted from a peak of over $7 million in January, falling back to the level of September 2024.

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The new platform will use 1% of its weekly revenue to buy back its ecological tokens, supporting this ecosystem that predates the platform's birth and has an existing foundation. In contrast, the tokens of the former dominant player have lost 60% of their market value since the ICO.

The Victory and Defeat of Attention Economy

The former dominant player once gained an advantage through network effects, but attention is fragile. A live streaming incident gave users a reason to try alternative platforms. The new platform quickly became the "clean" choice, free from historical baggage. This is similar to how Myspace lost to Facebook; it wasn’t just functionality and scale that were lost, but also cultural narratives.

Realizing the crisis of life and death, the former霸主 launched a nearly desperate counterattack. They increased the token buyback ratio from 25% of daily revenue to 100% and introduced a 30-day incentive plan. However, initial feedback indicates that this strategy has not reversed the competitive situation.

The problem lies not in tactics, but in strategy. No matter how many buybacks or incentive plans there are, they cannot restore lost trust, nor can they refocus the attention of users who have already shifted away. The new platform has built a truly eco-reward system that is tied to users' interests; it is not about "spending money to make people trade," but about "paying to let users build together."

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A Bigger Picture

In the digital marketplace, the switching costs for users are close to zero, and a dominant position can vanish in a matter of months. The success of new platforms is not necessarily due to them building fundamentally superior products, but rather because they enter the market at the moment when their competitors' reputations are the most vulnerable. In the attention economy, timing is often more critical than technology.

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Although the market share has significantly shrunk, the former dominator is not yet out of the game. They have secured $1.2 billion in financing, which buys them time and experimental capital. Their platform has supported hundreds of thousands of project launches without crashing, which is especially important in a high-pressure environment. They still generate over $250,000 in revenue daily, with an annualized figure close to $100 million, and with substantial capital reserves, their foundation remains strong.

The most likely scenario is market fragmentation. New platforms may become the main platforms, dominating the number of issued coins and revenue, while former giants transform into niche platforms with loyal users, securing a place based on interface, features, or ecosystems.

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To truly turn the tide, the former dominant players must not only solve technical issues or rely on money to retain talent, but also rebuild trust and reclaim cultural high ground. This means achieving a transparent, community-centered token economic structure, and may even require a complete overhaul of the leadership to completely shake off past controversies.

In this field, when a platform loses its legitimacy, no amount of funding or functionality can restore its dignity. Only new leaders can earn the respect of the old. Sometimes, for the continuation of the ecosystem, the crown must be passed to newcomers.

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