Key Takeaways
- Pump.fun has transferred hundreds of millions of dollars raised from the PUMP token sale to Kraken.
- The move has prompted fears that the project’s team is cashing out.
- PUMP is currently trading around 36% below its ICO price.
When PUMP was launched in July, demand was so high that all 150 billion tokens were sold out within minutes.
At $0.004 a piece, the sale generated significant revenue for Pump.fun’s founders, who have moved to cash out $466 million USDC in recent days.
But with PUMP trading below $0.0026 as of Nov. 24, investors haven’t been so lucky.
Exit Fears Abound as Pump.fun Team Cashes Out
According to blockchain analyst EmberCN, in the week to Monday, Pump.fun deposited $466 million USDC into Kraken, where it was swiftly transferred to Circle.
The funds can be traced back to the memecoin launchpad’s token sale in the summer, which raised a total of $600 million.
Unlike other similar offerings, Pump.fun’s team never said they would use proceeds from the sale as seed liquidity.
Nor did they commit to a predetermined lockup period. Nevertheless, the recent withdrawals coupled with radio silence from the platform’s founders have set alarm bells ringing.
Normally a prolific social media poster, Pump.fun founder alon’s X profile has been inactive since Nov. 8. The platform’s official X account has also been suspiciously quiet.
PUMP ICO Investors Down 36%
Initial Coin Offering (ICO) profits generated by Pump.fun’s founders stand in stark contrast to losses incurred by investors.
With PUMP now trading under $0.0026, ICO buyers are sitting on losses of roughly 36% from the $0.004 sale price.
For now, the memecoin exchange remains as popular as ever.
But the ship could sink rapidly without a captain.
In a market that prices memecoins on vibes and momentum, ongoing exit fears threaten to further erode to PUMP’s price.
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James Morales is CCN’s blockchain and crypto policy reporter. He has been working in the news media since 2020, writing about topics such as payments, banking and financial technology. These days, he likes to explore the latest blockchain innovations and the evolving landscape of global crypto regulation.
With an educational background in social anthropology and media studies, James uses his platform as a journalist to explore how new technologies work, why they matter and how they might shape our future.
