Raydium has seen a severe decline this year, and recently fell out of the top 100 cryptocurrencies. Its market cap now sits at approximately $550 million. This is a sharp drop from January, when its price peaked above $8. Currently, Raydium trades at around $2.05.
After its January high, Raydium’s price dropped sharply. By mid-March, it had fallen below $1.50. Much of this decline was linked to news that Pump.fun was working on its own automated market maker (AMM). The development of a competing AMM raised concerns about Raydium’s future role in the ecosystem.
LaunchLab Introduced as Strategic Response
In response to Pump.fun’s AMM plans, Raydium launched LaunchLab. This new platform functions as a launchpad, allowing users to create tokens with various in-depth features. These include bonding curve settings, liquidity migrations, and vesting schedules. LaunchLab was designed for both advanced users wanting to customise their launches and beginners preferring default settings.
Read also: Raydium LaunchLab vs Pump.fun: How Do They Compare?
LaunchLab did not see major usage initially. However, incentives introduced by Raydium, such as trading rewards, boosted activity. In mid-May, LaunchLab reached its usage peak. On May 12, over 14,000 tokens were created through the platform. During other days that week, daily token launches ranged from 5,000 to 8,000. Despite these strong numbers, LaunchLab still recorded lower usage than Pump.fun’s launchpad.
June Sees Decline in LaunchLab Activity
The peak in May was not sustained. Throughout June, LaunchLab usage steadily declined. Over the whole month the number of daily launched tokens was below 3,000. Active address counts also dropped significantly compared to the May peak, suggesting reduced user engagement.
Raydium’s price reflected LaunchLab’s usage patterns. During the peak in mid-May, Raydium rebounded above $3. However, by early June, its price dropped back below $2.30. Over the past month, the token has been volatile, with brief attempts to rise quickly reversed. Currently, it is down about 5% compared to a month ago.
Partnership with xStocks Announced – Game Changer?
On June 30, Raydium announced a partnership with xStocks to bring tokenized equities onto Solana. Under this partnership, Raydium will provide liquidity for tokenized stocks issued by xStocks. The success of this partnership depends on whether tokenized equities gain popularity among Solana users.
What’s Next?
Despite the price action, Raydium continues to develop its platform and form new partnerships. However, recent declines in LaunchLab usage and overall reduced trading activity suggest that regaining its previous momentum may require more developments beyond its current offerings.
