Solana’s 2024 memecoin boom saw over 1.6 million tokens launched, mostly via Pump.fun, but many crashed due to flawed tokenomics—rules governing a token’s supply, distribution, and purpose. Poor tokenomics set these projects up to fail, leaving investors burned. In this blog, we’ll explore typical Solana memecoin tokenomics in 2024, why so many failed, and compare them to $LAUNCHXP, the native token of Launch Xpress (launching May 2, 2025), as a case study in better design. This is an educational guide for memecoin lovers, not financial advice. Let’s learn from 2024’s mistakes!

What Are Tokenomics?

Tokenomics is a memecoin’s recipe: total supply (how many tokens exist), distribution (who gets them), liquidity (funds for trading), burns (tokens removed to increase scarcity), vesting (locked funds released over time), and utility (what the token does). Bad tokenomics often lead to scams like rug pulls, where creators drain funds and disappear.

Typical Solana Memecoin Tokenomics in 2024

In 2024, Solana memecoins often followed a speculative, hype-driven model, but structural flaws led to widespread failures:

• Total Supply: Most tokens, like Popcat (POPCAT), launched with 1 billion tokens to keep prices low and attract buyers. However, oversupply often diluted value, causing price crashes.
• Liquidity Pool: On Pump.fun, tokens used a bonding curve, automatically adding liquidity to a DEX like PumpSwap after hitting a market cap threshold. Pools were often small—MUMU THE BULL (MUMU) launched with just 5-10% of supply in liquidity, leading to volatility and price swings.
• Distribution: Creators typically held 20-50% of the supply with no transparency. Neiro (NEIRO) allocated 30% to the team, but without vesting, they dumped tokens post-launch, causing a 90% price drop from its $0.0045 ATH.
• Burns: LP tokens were rarely burned, leaving pools vulnerable. PONKE didn’t burn airdrop tokens, flooding the market with an extra 10% of supply, devaluing the token. Only some, like MEW, burned 90% of LP tokens to stabilize prices.
• Vesting: Team allocations often lacked vesting schedules. Slerf (SLERF) had a 40% team allocation with no lockup, leading to immediate sell-offs and a rapid value decline after its June 2024 launch.
• Security and Utility: Mint and freeze authorities were often unrevoked, as seen with Fartcoin, allowing creators to manipulate supply. Most lacked utility, relying on hype—Gigachad (GIGA) had no use case, collapsing after hype faded.
• Investor Risks: Small liquidity, unvested allocations, and lack of burns made tokens prone to rug pulls. Reports suggest over 80% of Pump.fun launches in 2024 were scams, with tokens losing 90% of their value within days due to insider dumps.

These flaws—unvested team tokens, unburned airdrops, and speculative designs—set many 2024 memecoins up to fail, eroding investor trust.

$LAUNCHXP Tokenomics: A Safer Case Study

Compare this to $LAUNCHXP, Launch Xpress’s native token, launching on Raydium:

• Total Supply: 1 billion $LAUNCHXP tokens—similar to 2024 averages but structured for stability.
• Liquidity Pool: 900 million $LAUNCHXP (90%) is deposited into a Raydium pool, paired with SOL. Unlike 2024 norms, 100% of LP tokens are burned, including 10 million airdrop tokens, ensuring no withdrawals and increasing scarcity.
• Distribution and Vesting: The Dev Team holds 100 million $LAUNCHXP (10%) in a multi-sig wallet, with signatures named before launch for transparency. While there’s no vesting schedule (like many 2024 tokens), the multi-sig setup ensures accountability, and unused tokens will be burned by May 2, 2027.
• Airdrops and Marketing: No separate airdrop allocation—10 million tokens were burned at launch. Future airdrops use platform fees (0.04 SOL per token creation at https://token.launch-xpress.fun/create-coin) or non-token rewards, avoiding the dilution seen in 2024.
• Security: Mint, freeze, and update authorities are revoked, verifiable on Solscan, unlike many 2024 launches.
• Utility: $LAUNCHXP powers Launch Xpress, used for token creation, discounts, governance, or rewards, adding value beyond speculation.

Lessons from 2024 for Memecoin Lovers

$LAUNCHXP’s tokenomics address 2024’s pitfalls: burned LP tokens and revoked authorities prevent rug pulls, a multi-sig wallet ensures transparency, and utility adds longevity. In contrast, 2024 memecoins often failed due to unvested insider allocations, lack of burns, and speculative designs with no utility, leading to rapid collapses. Use tools like Solscan to check tokenomics before engaging with a memecoin. Join Solana’s X community to learn more and spot safer projects!

Disclaimer

This blog is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Memecoin trading carries significant risks, including total loss of funds. Always conduct your own research.