Bonding and migration

"It bonded" is the first milestone every pump.fun coin chases. Here is what it means mechanically, and why the chart often looks strange around it.

What happens at the moment of bonding

When the last tokens on the bonding curve are bought:

1. Trading on the curve stops.
2. The SOL raised and the remaining token supply are deposited into a liquidity pool. Today that pool is usually on PumpSwap, pump.fun's own DEX. Older coins migrated to Raydium.
3. The liquidity in that pool is locked by the migration process, so the dev cannot simply withdraw it.
4. Trading resumes on the new pool, usually within seconds.

Terminals show this as a "migrated" or "graduated" badge, and the chart may switch to a new pair address.

Why the chart gets wild around bonding

• Bonding is a target. Traders buy the last few percent of the curve on purpose, expecting attention after it lists. That can create a sharp spike right before migration.
• Sell pressure right after. Early buyers who were waiting for exit liquidity often sell into the first minutes on the pool.
• New audience. Some traders and bots only watch bonded coins, so volume can jump.

A common pattern is a pump into bonding, a dump right after, then either a slow death or a second leg up if the community holds.

What does not change

Bonding does not make a coin safe. The supply distribution is the same as it was on the curve. If 30% sits in bundled wallets before bonding, it is still there after. The difference is only where the trading happens.