Pump.fun will pay callers based on whether their followers profit, not on the trading volume a recommendation generates. Low-cap token callouts will earn less, starting with the October 10 payout, according to co-founder Alon.
Pump.fun is changing how it pays people to recommend tokens. Starting with the October 10 payout, callouts on low-cap tokens will earn less, according to co-founder Alon.
Alon announced the update in a post on X. According to The Defiant, he wrote: "Volume will cease to be the main attributer for rewards."
Rewards shift from volume to follower results
Until now, the program favored callouts that drove trading activity. Under the revised model, callers who steer followers into profitable trades get rewarded instead.
Alon framed the goal as spreading gains more widely. He wants broader wealth effects rather than letting most profits flow to a small group of skilled traders, Crypto Briefing reports.
The Defiant notes that Alon's announcement did not specify a market-cap cutoff or explain how follower profits would be measured. Crypto Briefing adds that Pump.fun has not published its methodology and reserves the right to change it without notice.
A program adjusted twice in a week
Callout Rewards launched around August 2026 with an approximate budget of $15 million for payouts. On October 4, Pump.fun scaled back rewards for users who post callouts at high frequency, aiming to cut spam.
The Defiant reports that Alon put cumulative payouts at $15 million on Oct. 3.
Crypto Briefing says the program's design is meant to be open to everyone, including accounts with fewer than 10 followers. Eligible participants are paid daily in USDC, a dollar-pegged stablecoin.
In an Oct. 9 post, Alon said algorithm changes could take weeks to affect results, according to The Defiant. The outlet adds that he said historical rewards rankings could take weeks or months to shift, and already-paid rewards could not be reversed.
Crypto Briefing points to open questions. Measuring whether followers benefited is harder than measuring volume, because profit depends on when each follower buys and sells.
Sources: Crypto Briefing, The Defiant
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