Pump.fun Draws Backlash After Confirming PUMP ICO - Unchained

Solana-based memecoin launchpad Pump.fun confirmed plans to launch its PUMP token through an initial coin offering (ICO) on July 12, allocating 33% to public sale, 24% to the community, 20% to the team, and 13% to early investors, with U.S. and U.K. users excluded from participating.

Within that allocation, the team said 180 billion tokens would be sold in a private sale for institutional investors, while 150 billion would be sold in the public sale.

“Both private sale and public sale purchasers are on the exact same terms,” said the Pump.fun team, adding that “each token will be sold at a price of $0.004.”

Some industry watchers criticized the move, comparing it to a “liquidity extraction,” warning that it could drain capital from the broader memecoin market.

This story is an excerpt from the Unchained Daily newsletter.

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“The tokenomics screams grift from all angles, extracting over $1B through the ICO after generating $750M revenue over the past year without investing a dime in the ecosystem,” wrote pseudonymous crypto researcher @rezxbt on X

Former contradictory statements made by Pump.fun co-founder Alon Cohen also made the rounds on social media.

Cohen had previously said that the “only upside to presales are that they allow you to pocket raised $$$” and that “every pre sale is a scam.”