Crypto is rebellion.

It’s a vision of tearing down the walls built by the financial elite and giving power back to the billions who’ve been told, “you don’t belong.” It’s about markets that never sleep, that no one owns – borderless, permissionless, incorruptible…

… and so, here we are, trading tokens like ASSDAQ and ASS&P500.

These kinds of tokens wouldn’t exist without Pump(.)fun, the memecoin launchpad that ran the memecoin show this cycle.

Or, should I say… used to run it.

Back in April, the BONK community, together with Solana’s DEX Raydium, launched a competing memecoin platform called LetsBONK.

The big difference between the two is how they handle the fees:

Pump(.)fun barely gives back to the Solana ecosystem → a profit first approach;

LetsBonk, on the other hand, reinvests part of its fees into BONK and Solana ecosystems → a community-first approach.

And LetsBONK is now beating Pump(.)fun:

• It deployed 2.2x more tokens than Pump(.)fun in the past 24 hours;

• Graduated 75% of yesterday’s memecoins, compared to Pump(.)fun’s 22% (FYI: “graduated” means the token moved off the launchpad and onto a DEX);

• Collected 2.5x more fees;

• Of the top 25 tokens launched this week, 19 were from LetsBonk, and just 4 from Pump(.)fun.

Now, that’s bad news for Pump(.)fun – especially since their $4B token sale is on the horizon (we talked more about it here btw.)

Here’s why it’s bad:

1/ The narrative is moving away

In crypto – and especially memecoins – vibes matter.

Pump(.)fun made its name as the go-to place for stupid tokens and hype. But LetsBonk is stealing that thunder.

→ Asking investors to value you at $4B when you’re already losing your crown? Not a great look.

2/ Sustainability questions

Pump(.)fun’s profit-first model worked when no one knew better.

But now LetsBonk is showing you can grow while actually supporting the community and the chain.

→ Investors and users may now doubt the long-term sustainability of Pump(.)fun’s model. Why would they support a platform that bleeds the ecosystem when another is giving back and growing faster?

3/ $4B looks insane

A $4B valuation implies confidence in future growth and market leadership.

→ If they’re already being outperformed, that confidence gets shaky – and investors might call BS on the valuation.

Sooo… is Pump(.)fun completely cooked?

Not yet. But it is starting to fall behind… We’ll know when we know.

A controversial 48-49 Senate vote on Thursday to reject the GENIUS Act has sparked an immediate backlash from U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who condemned the decision as a “historic misstep” with global consequences.

In a strongly worded post on X (formerly Twitter) on May 9, Scott Bessent condemned the Senate’s failure to advance the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, arguing it squandered a rare chance to lead the global stablecoin market.

“The world needs American leadership,” Bessent wrote. “The Senate missed an opportunity to provide that leadership today by failing to advance the GENIUS Act.”

Did the Senate Just Kill U.S. Crypto Dominance?

Scott Bessent labeled the bill a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” to assert dollar dominance through innovation.

He criticized the Senate for allowing state-by-state regulatory fragmentation to persist and warned that digital asset development could shift abroad without a unified federal framework.

The GENIUS Act, introduced in February by Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) and co-sponsored by prominent Republicans, including Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC) and digital assets advocate Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), sought to provide a comprehensive federal framework for the issuance and regulation of stablecoins in the United States.

Despite early bipartisan momentum, the bill failed a procedural vote on May 8 after Senate Democrats abruptly pulled support over national security concerns, AML provisions, and last-minute resistance from key lawmakers.

Senator Mark Warner (D-VA), who opposed the bill, said its text was “not yet finished,” while others hinted at deeper political friction.

The Unspoken Political Tensions Fueling the GENIUS Act’s Demise

Some Democrats privately expressed discomfort with President Trump’s recent pro-crypto involvements, which they feared had tainted the legislative process with political overtones.

The bill’s failure has cast a shadow over the future of stablecoin regulation and broader crypto legislation, particularly ahead of the 2026 midterms when all House seats and one-third of the Senate will be up for grabs.

Senator Cynthia Lummis, a key co-sponsor, voiced her disappointment on X, stating that failing to pass the GENIUS Act was a step backward in securing America’s digital future.

John Deaton, a well-known pro-XRP lawyer, called on lawmakers to rise above partisan divisions. “Senators need to place the country first, not politics. This bill had bipartisan support just a week ago. What happened?”

Decentralization vs. Control: The Ideological Clash Central to Stablecoin Debates

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, while not directly commenting on the GENIUS Act, had previously warned against “centralized stablecoins becoming a tool for geographical control.” The implication is that a U.S.-denominated stablecoin framework could undermine crypto’s decentralized ethos.

Lawmakers argue that stablecoins like Tether’s USDT require oversight to prevent criminal exploitation.

In addition, according to a previous report, stablecoins make up the bulk of illicit transaction volume in 2024.

The collapse of TerraUSD further fueled debate. The crash erased $40 billion in value, raising concerns about consumer risks in decentralized systems. Proponents of regulation cite TerraUSD as evidence that even decentralized models can fail, leaving users vulnerable.

However, critics note a contradiction. Many “decentralized” stablecoins still depend on centralized elements, such as development teams or governance structures. The result is a paradox, as blockchain systems designed to eliminate trust still rely on it, just in different hands.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

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