Pump.fun’s $1.32B Token Sale Targets Solana Social Web With No Vesting, Whales Hedging, and EVM Expansion

Solana-Based Launchpad Eyes PUMP Token Sale With Heavy Exchange Support 

Pump.fun is preparing to launch its PUMP token sale on Saturday, July 12, 2025, at 14:00 UTC, aiming to raise up to $1.32 billion or sell the 150 billion tokens allocated for public distribution—whichever comes first. 

The Solana-based meme coin launchpad, which lets users mint and trade tokens without coding, will distribute 33% of its 1 trillion total token supply through this offering. That includes 18% already sold to institutional investors and 15% available via public sale until July 15. Participating exchanges include Bybit, Kraken, Bitget, MEXC, KuCoin, and Gate.io. Due to regulatory constraints, users in the U.S., U.K., and EU (via Bybit.eu) are excluded from participation, with MiCA cited for the EU restriction.

Each token is priced at $0.004 with no vesting period, and tokens become transferable 48–72 hours after the ICO concludes. Purchases on Bybit can be made in USDT, USDC, SOL, and bbSOL. As the token prepares to go live, pre-sale market activity has already drawn significant attention across the crypto price index. Binance’s PUMP perpetual contracts registered over $12 billion in trading volume, while whales on Hyperliquid deployed more than $11 million USDC into short positions. 

One such wallet, “0xAc72,” initiated a 2x short at $0.00504 with $4 million in margin and a liquidation price set at $0.02138. Analysts have pointed out that this appears to be protective hedging, not necessarily a bet against the token’s success, likely tied to anticipated allocations or airdrops.

Criticism has emerged over Pump.fun’s tokenomics structure, particularly from crypto researcher Rex, who called the allocation “exploitative,” noting that over 40% of the total supply is being retained by insiders—including the team and existing investors. Rex argues that the platform, while spotlighting community growth, offers little in the way of concrete rewards for its user base. “Community reward which should be the purpose of $PUMP is said to be ‘coming soon’ which is just another term for ‘we do not really have a plan to airdrop,’” he wrote. 

Users have echoed this concern, calling out the absence of a clear airdrop plan, the vague language used to describe future community incentives, and a perceived lack of transparency. The structure offers institutional buyers and insiders fixed $0.004 pricing with no lock-ups—terms that retail participants have no way to match—raising fears that the offering reflects a short-term, profit-first mindset.

Despite the backlash, Pump.fun’s leadership has continued to promote a broader strategic narrative. Co-founder Alon Cohen said the platform intends to “kill Facebook, TikTok, and Twitch. On Solana.” Since its January 2024 launch, Pump.fun has envisioned itself as a creator-first, on-chain economy built around attention and engagement. The roadmap includes tools for livestreaming, token buybacks, fee rebates, and more intuitive user experiences. Internal API leaks from Dumpster DAO suggest upcoming EVM compatibility, Stripe integration, subscription pricing models, video and post content support, DMs, and “clips”—all aimed at expanding platform utility and reworking how creators interact with blockchain-powered audiences.

Revenue numbers are staggering—nearly $715 million since launch and over $35 million in the last month alone. Still, usage has declined sharply. Dune Analytics shows daily trading volumes have dropped by 75–80% from January peaks. Meanwhile, Bonk.fun has overtaken Pump.fun in both usage and revenue. With over 21,000 tokens launched daily—more than double Pump.fun’s 9,936—and control of 64% of Raydium token launches, Bonk.fun now holds a strong lead. Its aggressive 50% revenue buyback-and-burn model for BONK tokens, which has amassed over 300,000 SOL, has made it a favorite in the Solana ecosystem. “Bonk.fun is the first Solana-based token launchpad to surpass Pump.fun in revenue,” analyst Dexter said, calling it a milestone for the broader ecosystem.

To reinforce its vision for a social, gamified Web3 environment, Pump.fun recently acquired Kolscan—a wallet-tracking and copy-trading platform offering real-time analytics, leaderboards, and KOL monitoring. Alon Cohen described onchain trading as “a social sport,” noting that tools like Kolscan help gamify the experience and provide meaningful data insights. Plans include making the platform free, enhancing performance, and reworking leaderboards to spotlight skilled traders instead of just influencers.

While the team has not directly responded to the tokenomics criticisms, it continues to emphasize its long-term goal of evolving into a crypto-native social platform. The mission includes supporting creators with monetization tools, rewarding early talent discovery, and forming “thriving communities, movements, and even cults,” according to Cohen. Yet, without a detailed airdrop plan or firmer community distribution structure, skepticism remains about whether these goals can be achieved in a way that aligns with the grassroots contributors who propelled the platform's early momentum. 

Regulatory hurdles also persist: the U.S., U.K., and EU remain locked out of participation, underscoring the friction between ambitious crypto platform expansion and tightening global compliance expectations. As the PUMP sale approaches its launch, the coin market cap implications and long-term alignment between insiders, users, and speculators remain under the microscope.

This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.