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Pump.fun
pump.fun (commonly referred to as Pump) is a cryptocurrency trading platform for the Solana blockchain that enables users to create tokens and trade them immediately on the platform, as well as to launch them onto decentralized exchanges like Raydium, a process known as "graduation". The domain name was first registered on September 19, 2023,[1] with the platform launching exactly four months later on January 19, 2024.[2] Pump had 5.1 million tokens being created through the platform as of December 26, 2024.[citation needed] While any type of token can be created, the majority of tokens are classified as meme coins due to their lack of functionality outside of investments.[3] The website was started by an anonymous developer known as Alon, tweeting that he wanted to make Pump "the most fun place on the internet".[4] Over 2.4 million unique tokens have been created as of December 2024, but they face a high failure rate, with roughly 98.5 percent of tokens failing to be listed on Raydium.[citation needed] The platform has been compared with social media platforms such as 4chan, as all accounts are identified either with their Solana wallet address or a nickname, as well as token listings being laid out similarly to an imageboard's catalog feature.[5] ControversiesLivestreamsThe site operated a livestreaming feature until November 2024 that allowed token developers to advertise their tokens to other users. Livestreams were used as a marketing tool for newly released tokens to stand out on the platform, as the constant influx of token creations on the platform can quickly make new coins become irrelevant.[6] The feature became controversial not long after release, as a number of token creators began to partake in increasingly extreme actions to attract potential investors to their product, prompting the platform to indefinitely disable the feature after major community backlash and attention from financial news organizations.[7][4] Some streamers claimed to be live from within U.S. prisons, ran live sex shows or played games of Russian roulette.[7] One streamer threatened to waterboard another person.[7] The removal of the livestream feature caused a sharp decline in platform activity, with the amount of tokens being created dropping by 50 percent, and active users falling by 69 percent by the end of November 2024. The site's revenues also fell below $2 million for the first time in weeks.[8] Rug pulls and scamsThe site has been host to various scams, including rug pulls. A notable example is "Gen Z Quant", a token made on the platform by a 13-year-old who publicized it through pump.fun's streaming service before dumping his holdings onto the market (roughly 5 percent of the total supply of the token) and abandoning the token after reaching a $1 million market cap, earning $50,000. This angered many of the platform's users, prompting the community to pump the token in revenge to an US$85 million market cap, as well as to dox the creator's name, home address, and school.[9][10][11] Withdrawal from the United KingdomIn December 2024, the site banned all users from the United Kingdom, following a warning from the Financial Conduct Authority about operating in the country without proper authorization.[citation needed] Investor lawsuitIn January 2024, a lawsuit against pump.fun was filed in the Southern District of New York. The lawsuit, filed by an investor who lost money buying the token PNUT, claims that pump.fun operated as an unregistered securities exchange and put investors at a high financial risk.[12][13] References
External linksInformation related to Pump.fun |
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