By MemeHedge Buzz Desk | January 28, 2026
The memecoin market has a tell: when “inactive wallets” wake up, the casino lights come back on.
Over the last few weeks, Pump.fun—Solana’s breakout memecoin launchpad—has shown renewed traction, with on-chain indicators pointing to a meaningful rebound in participation. One widely-cited metric: analytics firm Artemis flagged “returning users” hitting a record near 20,000 wallets—addresses that had been inactive for months and suddenly came back to trade.
That kind of reactivation matters because memecoin cycles aren’t driven by slow, institutional allocation. They’re driven by repeating behavior—the same risk-takers rotating back into the arena once liquidity, momentum, and social attention line up.
The data point behind the headline: activity and revenue “double”
What’s behind the “usage doubles” framing is simple: platform throughput surged in January.
According to figures referenced from DeFiLlama, Pump.fun’s DEX volume roughly doubled from ~$45M to ~$106M in January, while revenue expanded from about ~$700K to ~$1.5M in the same window.
Those numbers matter for two reasons:
- They’re behavioral confirmation that memecoin trading appetite has reappeared (at least on Solana).
- They can become reflexive if token incentives, buybacks, or fee mechanics translate activity into sustained demand for the platform’s native asset (where applicable).
Adding to the “flow is back” narrative, Pump.fun also recorded a major milestone earlier this month: ~$2.03B in daily DEX volume on January 6, 2026 (reported using DefiLlama-tracked data).
Why this could matter for SOL (and where the thesis breaks)
The bullish thesis for Solana is straightforward: if memecoin issuance + trading expands, it tends to pull demand into the ecosystem—fees, blockspace, DEX routing, wallets, and liquidity.
But Solana doesn’t automatically “win” just because memes are moving again. There are a few friction points that determine whether the wave translates into sustained SOL bid:
- Is the activity sticky or bursty? A one-week mania spike can fade as fast as it forms.
- Does liquidity broaden beyond memes? If stablecoins, majors, and “real DeFi” don’t re-accelerate, SOL can stall once the meme burst cools.
- Does the platform improve incentives? Pump.fun has been actively tweaking its fee mechanics and ecosystem incentives, including high-profile changes aimed at creator/trader alignment.
In short: memecoins can be a Solana catalyst, but they’re also a volatility engine. When market sentiment wobbles, memes are usually first to unwind.
The cross-chain angle: what Solana’s meme rebound signals for SUI launchpads
Here’s the part SUI builders should care about:
When a memecoin cycle returns on a dominant chain, it typically exports a playbook, not just capital:
- frictionless token creation
- fast trading loops
- viral narrative templates
- “graduation” paths to deeper liquidity
- community growth mechanics that look more like gaming than finance
If Solana is showing re-acceleration via Pump.fun—returning wallets, doubled monthly volume/revenue, and billion-dollar daily volume spikes—then the broader signal is that speculative attention is willing to rotate again, even after long cool periods.
That’s exactly the climate where SUI-native launchpads can compete: not by copying Solana’s culture, but by offering cleaner UX, better creator tooling, and safer launch design while the market is in “discovery mode.”
For MemeHedge.fun, this is the moment to lean into:
- simple “launch → trade → community” funnels
- clearer token-page risk signals (anti-rug UX, transparent supply info)
- and a landing-page narrative that frames SUI as not late, but next—the chain where the meme cycle matures rather than repeats the same failures.
The risk section (because memes always have one)
Even as activity rebounds, there’s no ignoring the reality that memecoin platforms often attract scrutiny—both socially and legally—especially as volumes rise. Several market write-ups note growing attention on the category and related controversies.
So the cleanest framing is this:
- Yes, the memecoin wave looks like it’s resurfacing (at least on Solana, measurable by users/volume/revenue).
- No, that doesn’t make it “safe.” It makes it active.
Bottom line
Pump.fun’s returning-user spike and January doubling in volume/revenue line up with a broader pattern: memecoin risk appetite is switching back on.
If Solana can keep liquidity healthy—and if meme activity spills into wider DeFi participation—SOL can benefit. If not, this becomes another sharp cycle: up fast, down faster.
For SUI and MemeHedge, the opportunity is to treat Solana’s rebound as proof-of-market, then win by shipping a cleaner “next-gen launchpad” experience while the crowd is looking for the next arena.
MemeHedge Buzz
Where meme culture meets market structure. We examine the systems, tools, and infrastructure shaping meme-driven markets across chains—focusing on mechanics, design, and long-term participation rather than short-term noise.
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