Key Takeaways
- PUMP is already trading 40% above its ICO price on Hyperliquid.
- Public token sale kicks off July 12, ending July 15.
- Three whales have shorted $11 million worth of PUMP, likely hedging allocations.
Pump.fun’s PUMP token hasn’t even officially launched yet, but it’s already making noise.
The memecoin launchpad’s native token is trading at a 40% premium on Hyperliquid ahead of its public sale, drawing in serious speculative volume and a few eyebrow-raising whale shorts.
The pre-launch hype is real, but so is the hedging. Some are betting big, while others are playing it safe. Either way, PUMP is shaping up to be one of the most-watched token launches of the month.
PUMP Perps Pop Off With 40% Premium
Since listing on July 9, the PUMP/USD perpetual pair on Hyperliquid has been a major hit on the charts.
The token hit $0.0056 on day one, well above its $0.004 ICO price, and racked up $30 million in volume.
It has since cooled to around $0.0047, but daily volume has now topped $346 million.
Of the 1 trillion PUMP token supply, 33% is heading to early buyers, 18% via private sale, and 15% via the public sale starting July 12.
The tokens will be fully unlocked at launch.
PUMP will support Pump.fun’s push to build a Web3-native social platform.
The protocol itself has generated over $600 million in revenue to date, mostly from memecoin activity.
Big Wallets Go Short, Hedge Pre-Sale Bets
Not everyone is bullish. Three large wallets have shorted more than $11 million in PUMP on Hyperliquid, according to Lookonchain and Hypurrscan.
These low-leverage trades suggest the wallets are likely hedging against allocation risk rather than betting on a price crash.
One wallet, for example, posted $4 million in USDC margin to open a $1.07 million short with a sky-high liquidation level above $0.02.
Two other wallets opened additional shorts using $7 million in margin, bringing the total short open interest to over $4 million.
Binance has since joined the party, listing its own PUMP perpetual. Volume there has exploded to over $12 billion.
Token Sale Details
Pump.fun’s public token sale will run from July 12, 18:00 UTC to July 15, with 150 billion PUMP tokens (15% of supply) on offer at $0.004 each.
The sale takes place on major exchanges, including Bybit.
Based on the ICO price, the fully diluted valuation sits at $4 billion.
PUMP isn’t required to use the platform, but holding it may unlock perks like community giveaways and incentives.
With speculation, hedging, and memecoin mania all converging, the PUMP sale is shaping up to be anything but boring.
Giuseppe Ciccomascolo began his career as an investigative journalist in Italy, where he contributed to both local and national newspapers, focusing on various financial sectors.
Upon relocating to London, he worked as an analyst for Fitch's CapitalStructure and later as a Senior Reporter for Alliance News. In 2017, Giuseppe transitioned to covering cryptocurrency-related news, producing documentaries and articles on Bitcoin and other emerging digital currencies. He also played a pivotal role in establishing the academy for a cryptocurrency exchange website. Crypto remained his primary area of interest throughout his tenure as a writer for ThirdFloor.
