Web3 live streaming track: If PumpFun is Taobao, Sidekick is TikTok

Author: Yue Xiaoyu; Source: X, @yuexiaoyu111

PumpFun, the largest token launch platform in the cryptocurrency world, has restarted its live streaming feature. What impact will this have on the Web3 live streaming track?

First, the conclusion: PumpFun’s first launch of the live streaming feature pioneered the Web3 live streaming track; now that the live streaming feature has been restarted, it has once again opened up the ceiling of this track.

1. PumpFun actually gave its competitors a very long window of opportunity.

In November 2024, PumpFun combined coin issuance and speculation with live streaming for the first time. The popularity was too high, especially since pornography, gambling, and drugs were too close to the cryptocurrency circle, and all kinds of monsters and demons rushed in.

However, due to the lack of content risk control and compliance capabilities, the live streaming function was forced to be offline.

This was the first time that everyone saw the potential and imagination of Web3 live streaming.

The window period that PumpFun gave other competitors can be said to be very long, from November 2024 to September 2025, nearly a year.

Who emerged during this period?

There is no doubt that Sidekick, which quickly emerged within this year, has completed the cold start of its ecosystem and issued its own token.

2. What will happen to competitors after PumpFun resumes live streaming? Some might ask, will PumpFun's relaunch of the live streaming feature threaten Sidekick? Firstly, PumpFun is the largest token launch platform in the cryptocurrency world and holds considerable influence. Therefore, the relaunch of the live streaming feature further demonstrates its importance. Therefore, this move actually widens the competition ceiling. As the market gets bigger, the top players in that market will always get a larger share. The key is the ratio. 3. PumpFun and Sidekick are competing with differentiation. PumpFun leverages its core business, token issuance, and combines it with live streaming to potentially become the issuer's fan token. Sidekick, on the other hand, leverages its Web2 live streaming technology and growth experience, boasting significantly stronger product capabilities than PumpFun and is on its way to becoming a pan-entertainment Web3 live streaming platform. Therefore, Sidekick and PumpFun are competing with differentiation, with distinct positioning.

For PumpFun, live streaming is merely a catalyst for token issuance; for Sidekick, it serves as a vehicle for a variety of content.

In other words, the live streaming on PumpFun is all about token issuance, and the content naturally tends to be more emotional and inflammatory.

However, the live streaming on Sidekick places greater emphasis on the content itself, and the content is richer, including investment research, blockchain games, online dog-beating, online tutorials, and more. 4. Text, images, videos, and live streaming: this is the inevitable evolutionary path for content platforms. It has long been said that the Web3 industry, due to its own particularities, requires a live streaming platform that conforms to Web3 characteristics. Traditional live streaming platforms have high compliance requirements for the cryptocurrency world, are often blocked, and monetization is difficult. Traditional bloggers essentially rely on live streaming to sell goods, which does not conform to the characteristics of the cryptocurrency world.

The current gathering place for the cryptocurrency community is Twitter, but Twitter is mainly based on pictures and text. It needs a video platform to become the next gathering place for cryptocurrency users after Twitter.

The ceiling of the Web3 live broadcast track is very high, and it can accommodate not only PumpFun, but also various platforms with differentiated competition.

PumpFun is a live broadcast service that issues coins, while Sidekick is a live broadcast service content. This is the differentiation of Sidekick.

If PumpFunis more like Taobao live streaming, where live streaming services sell goods; and Sidekickis Douyin live streaming, where live streaming sales are just one of the ways to monetize, and you can also monetize knowledge, monetize rewards, and so on.