Pump.fun Sees Record Meme Coin Activity as Retail Investors Return

Pump.fun has seen a surge in activity, with more than 25,000 new meme coins created on December 2. This marks the highest single-day count since mid-September and suggests that retail investors are returning to high-risk meme coin speculation as the year closes.

Data from Dune shows that Pump.fun maintained daily token creation above 20,000 throughout December, with the exception of a few days in early December when it dropped below this threshold. This is a significant increase compared to previous months and indicates a shift in market trends.

Despite the platform's revenue and decentralized exchange volume being down more than 80% compared to early 2025, active wallet addresses have held steady at around 100,000 on average since August. According to Michael Nadeau, founder of The DeFi Report, Pump.fun has achieved a retention rate of 12.4% in Week 4 and 11.4% in Week 8, which is higher than traditional Web2 consumer applications.

Trader Daan Crypto Trades noted that meme coins have outperformed major altcoins over the past two weeks, indicating increased market risk appetite. However, he cautioned that this trend may not represent a long-term shift and could be a short-term anomaly.