Pump.fun rocketed to revenue, ran a blockbuster token sale, and then hit turbulence: rivals took share, the token slid, bots spammed launches, and critics cried “casino.” 

Now the team is fighting back with a dynamic creator-fee model, a liquidity foundation for cult communities, and an unapologetic push into live streaming and mobile.

In this episode, co-founder Noah Tweedale lays out how Project Ascend aims to align creators and communities, why buybacks aren’t a long-term business model, what they’re doing about bots and user losses, and how Pump plans to compete not just with crypto apps, but with YouTube, Twitch, and TikTok. 

It’s a candid look at whether a crypto product can become a mainstream platform.

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Guest:

Noah Tweedale, Co-founder of Pump.fun

Timestamps:

🎬 0:00 Intro

⚡ 2:09 Why the past few months have been so turbulent for Pump

💸 4:47 How the new dynamic fee model works for creators

🔍 9:40 How Pump’s discovery algorithm surfaces tokens

♻️ 10:45 Will Pump’s buybacks become programmatic?

🐶 15:33 Why LetsBonk was able to grab so much market share

⚔️ 18:20 Whether Noah sees Zora as a competitor

🌍 20:09 Why Noah wants to build a world-changing app, not chase small wins

👥 25:02 Whether Pump is prioritizing specific demographics

🔧 27:14 What the team is focused on improving in the app

🔗 30:32 How Pump is building interoperability with the broader crypto ecosystem

🤖 32:21 What the team is doing about bots launching tokens

💔 34:48 Whether they’re worried about so many users losing money

🛡️ 36:15 Why Noah doesn’t see apps like Zora or Believe as real competitors

📱 38:38 How mobile usage differs from desktop on Pump

⚖️ 40:03 How Pump approaches regulation and compliance

🎲 41:02 Why Noah insists Pump is not gambling, it’s trading

🎥 42:49 The strategies to compete with YouTube and Twitch

🌐 48:30 How Pump fits into a world with a widening wealth gap

🎰 53:29 How Noah responds to critics calling Pump a casino

🗺️ 57:56 Why Noah says roadmaps are a fallacy

🛠️ 59:41 Whether Pump will evolve into an “everything app”

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