Back in early 2021, Twitch had a bit of a situation on its hands. Some female streamers began broadcasting from hot tubs, wearing bikinis, cocktails in hand. Viewers called it the “hot tub meta.” Advertisers, predictably, weren’t thrilled. Twitch tightened its rules almost overnight, pulling ad money from top creators in that category.
It was a straightforward business decision. Twitch relies heavily on ad revenue, and brands generally steer clear of controversial content. Shock value doesn’t pay the bills there. So that type of streaming still exists, but it’s sort of fenced off—heavily restricted, with most advertisers opting out.
Enter Pump, and a Very Different Approach
Then there’s Pump, which seems to be leaning hard in the opposite direction. Take the memecoin BAGWORK, for example. It’s only been around for a few days. The creators behind it went all out for attention over the weekend: streaking at a baseball game, getting slapped by a fitness influencer, even threatening to jump off a pier. They shaved their heads. You get the picture.
And honestly, it worked. The token hit a $27 million market cap almost immediately. The duo made around $169,000 in just four days.
How Pump’s Fee Structure Changes Everything
This payoff is thanks to a change Pump made to its fee model back in September. Now, token creators earn a percentage every time their token is traded. It starts at 0.95% and scales down as market cap grows. That setup creates some unusual incentives.
Creators get paid based on trading volume, not viewer loyalty or one-time tips. If volume dries up, so do their earnings. So there’s real pressure to keep the spectacle going—to constantly create buzz that drives more people to trade. It’s a different world from Twitch or even OnlyFans, where income comes from subscriptions or donations from a steady fanbase.
You can see how this model might encourage not just shocking content, but a non-stop flow of it.
Why This Only Works on Pump
This whole thing works precisely because Pump doesn’t rely on advertisers. It takes a small protocol fee from every trade instead. That freedom means the platform can host content that other places can’t or won’t.
And the potential for attention-grabbing stunts is basically endless. There are only so many people willing to stream in a hot tub, but there are infinite ways to cause a stir if it means moving a memecoin and cashing in on trade fees.
Not that it’s easy. According to some data, less than 0.1% of creators on Pump have earned more than $10,000. Most don’t make much at all. You really have to work for that bag—hence the name BAGWORK, I suppose.
It makes you wonder, though. What will people try next?
