Crypto memecoin creation platform Pump.fun has made its first-ever acquisition, buying the wallet-tracking platform Kolscan, with its founder looking at gamification to drive future growth.
Pump.fun said on Thursday that it had acquired Kolscan, a platform named after the term “key opinion leader” that “monitors the activities of top onchain traders,” delivers real-time transactions, their gains, and a “leaderboard ranking their performance.”
“Our integration will not only enable better products for both Kolscan and Pump.fun users, but allow for totally new experiences that will change the entire onchain trading landscape,” Pump.fun said.
The acquisition appears to be a strategic move by Pump.fun to strengthen its offerings ahead of its initial coin offering (ICO) on Saturday, which targets a $1 billion raise. The platform has recently lost market share to rival memecoin launcher LetsBonk.
Cohen: Gamifying trading is “key to growing our ecosystem”
Pump.fun co-founder Alon Cohen wrote on X that the Kolscan acquisition matched his belief that “onchain trading is a social sport,” with memecoin traders betting and comparing with friends.
“We believe that products that provide social insights/tools and gamify the trading experience are key to growing our ecosystem,” Cohen stated.
Pump.fun was credited with last year’s memecoin revival, allowing users with no coding experience to create tokens. At its peak in January, the platform reportedly generated millions of dollars in daily revenue, according to DefiLlama.
Cohen noted that Pump.fun will improve Kolscan with new features, making the tool free to use, while enhancing the reliability and speed of token, trade, and P&L data. The platform also aims to update the leaderboard to “reward real traders again, not just ‘KOLs’.”
Further additions include copytrading insights and other data to illuminate trader strategies. “The platform will be a core part of our push to building crypto’s social media platform that can scale to the billions,” Cohen added.
Pump.fun has previously experimented with social media-style features such as livestreaming, which was paused last year due to harmful broadcasts but resumed in April for select users under moderation.
$1B ICO to launch Saturday, excludes US and UK investors
On Wednesday, Pump.fun confirmed it will launch its ICO for the “PUMP” token on Saturday after weeks of speculation.
PUMP will have a total supply of 1 trillion tokens, with 330 billion (33%) offered to investors at $0.004 each, targeting a $1 billion raise.
Out of that, 180 billion tokens will go to institutional investors, while the public sale will offer 150 billion PUMP, confirming previous leaks from crypto exchange Gate.io.
Due to regulatory concerns, Pump.fun has banned ICO participation for investors in the United States and the United Kingdom.