When Pump.fun officially announced its token issuance, the already tense on-chain atmosphere became even more taut. Some criticized its overvaluation after being overtaken by competitor LetsBONK, while others worried it might quietly exit after draining the last wave of liquidity.
Launching ICO with a $4 billion valuation, with futures trading opening before spot trading
On the evening of July 10, Pump.fun, which had repeatedly leaked token issuance news, finally broke its silence, officially announcing the launch of its native token PUMP's Initial Coin Offering (ICO) on July 12, and promising an imminent large-scale airdrop. According to official disclosure, the total supply of PUMP tokens is 1 trillion, with 33% for ICO sales, 24% reserved for community and ecosystem plans, 20% allocated to the team, 13% to existing investors, and the remainder to ecosystem funds and foundation.
This ICO will sell 150 billion PUMP tokens at a price of 0.004 USDT, representing 15% of the total supply, with an expected total fundraising of $600 million, corresponding to a project valuation of approximately $4 billion.
Unlike most popular projects that typically choose to launch on top platforms like Binance, Pump.fun's public offering will be conducted through exchanges such as Bitget, Bybit, Kraken, and Gate.io, with participants able to purchase using assets like bbSOL, SOL, or USDT. Surprisingly, Binance Futures announced the listing of PUMP/USDT perpetual contract pre-trading before the PUMP public offering. The public sale will continue until tokens are sold out or until July 15 at 14:00 UTC. It's worth noting that users from the United States and the United Kingdom will be unable to participate due to compliance issues.
According to the PUMP release schedule, tokens allocated to the team and existing investors will begin gradual unlocking from July 2026; tokens for community and ecosystem plans will be gradually unlocked from the first day of token issuance and fully distributed by July 2026; other token allocations for ICO, liquidity+trading platforms, and foundation will be fully unlocked on the first day of token issuance. Additionally, the official stated that PUMP token transfer functionality will be opened 48 to 72 hours after sales conclude, with free trading initially not available.
Subsequently, Pump.fun founder Alon simultaneously released a tweet disclosing the project's future key development strategies: 1. Improve the quality, sustainability, and diversity of listed tokens: The creator revenue sharing mechanism will be extended to CTO projects, and fee structures will be further adjusted. 2. Double down on the social domain: Further invest in and focus on Pump.fun's live streaming functionality. 3. Continue investing in user experience. 4. Expand team size: The current team's basic framework is initially established, with over 70 core members covering engineering, data, security, trust and compliance, legal, operations, and growth; the team will continue to actively expand through recruitment and strategic acquisitions, with the first acquisition to be officially announced soon.
Pump token issuance faces overwhelming criticism, founder's past remarks backfire
Currently, the MEME market's liquidity and sentiment have drastically changed. As the long-term leader in the MEME track, Pump.fun now faces not only a significant decline in daily revenue and daily active users but has also been overtaken in market share by competitor LetsBonk. However, Pump.fun launched a public offering with a staggering $4 billion valuation, triggering one-sided questioning and criticism in the community, even being accused of potentially draining the already limited market liquidity and further exacerbating market weakness.
More embarrassingly, past remarks by Pump.fun founder Alon have resurfaced, creating a classic "face-slapping" moment. In March 2024, Alon stated that pre-sales must conduct market promotion to prove reasonable valuation, bringing enormous performance pressure. The only benefit of pre-sales is putting collected funds in one's pocket. Conclusion: Every pre-sale is a scam. Moreover, he directly stated that exchange listings are dead, and lack of transparency in listings leads to misconduct and poor currency choices.
In the view of IOSG Ventures partner jocy, while Pump.fun once created $700 million in protocol revenue, recent data shows its daily revenue has plummeted by 92%, with market share dropping to 39.9%, surpassed by competitor LetsBonk. This ICO with a $4 billion valuation has serious issues: non-transparent governance structure, unclear team release terms, and excessive valuation during the Altcoin downturn. He believes the team has already obtained enormous wealth through fees and has neither the willingness nor ability to "pump" or "control" the market. This ICO appears more like "exit liquidity" than a long-term development plan. He advises investors to treat this as a highly speculative gamble, not a fundamental investment; wait patiently for one week after token listing before making decisions, and use a staged participation strategy to reduce risk exposure.
Crypto KOL @Michael_Liu93 raised similar doubts about the valuation. If Pump were still the top player, a $4 billion valuation could be justified, even with potential upside. However, the reality is that Pump is the second-tier player, with business volume only one-third of Bonk, yet setting a valuation twice that of the top player, making it difficult to convince the market to continue raising Pump's price. As a "benchmark project", if the public offering performs poorly, it could trigger an avalanche for the entire launchpad track, signaling the end of the game.
Crypto researcher @rezxbt more sharply pointed out that Pump.fun is staging a complete "harvesting operation". Its token economic model looks like a wealth-gathering scam from every angle. After generating $750 million in revenue over the past year, it has invested almost nothing in the ecosystem, and now attempts to squeeze more funds through the public offering. With the team holding over 40% of $PUMP tokens, selling these tokens to the community that once supported Pump.fun and helped it earn abundantly is essentially cutting leeks.
However, some voices offer different perspectives, with rumors that several top crypto funds have sold their Altcoins to participate in Pump's fundraising. KOL @0xShual believes criticizing Pump.fun in isolation is unfair. If $PUMP fails, other projects like Launchcoin or Bonk cannot escape unscathed. They made rational financial choices, which is not a original sin. Pump is a profitable company that identified problems, proposed solutions, demonstrated delivery and growth capabilities, and earned significant money. Compared to overvalued L1 projects without real users, he would prefer to hold shares in a profitable, high-growth company. If the market is willing to sell other assets for $PUMP, it precisely indicates it's a quality asset. He believes the narrative that the "MEME track is dead" is just a phase, and if Pump can introduce airdrops, launch a product matrix, and establish a revenue feedback mechanism, market sentiment could quickly reverse.
He further pointed out that determining a project's long-term worth depends on two key factors: first, whether it has a strong narrative and market follow-up expectations; second, whether it has real, sustainable income and is willing to feed back token holders through systematic mechanisms.
The Pump.fun token issuance controversy actually reveals the collective dilemma currently facing the MEME market: emotional ebb, liquidity contraction, and overextended valuations. However, despite the meme narrative nearly exhausted and few truly profiting, people still line up to bet like scratching a lottery ticket. The token issuance business hasn't stopped, with new platforms continuously launching.
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