Pump.fun’s Meme Coin Frenzy: How It Became a $500M Crypto Powerhouse
In the chaotic world of cryptocurrencies, no platform captures the spirit of financial anarchy better than Pump.fun. What began as an experiment on Solana in early 2024 soon turned into a meme coin explosion.
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By January 2025, the Pump.fun platform had facilitated the creation of over six million tokens, generating hundreds of millions in revenue. This marked the beginning of the Pump.fun crypto boom.
However, beneath its rapid rise lies a story of greed, chaos, and controversy. Pumpfun token creation turned launches into viral social media spectacles, while rug pulls repeatedly shattered trust. Meanwhile, regulators were already sharpening their knives.
Is Pump.fun truly the future of meme coin trading, or is it a ticking time bomb?
The Birth of a Meme Coin Factory
What is Pumpfun? It’s a token launch platform unlike anything else in the crypto world.
Founded in January 2024 by British entrepreneurs Noah Tweedale, Alon Cohen, and Dylan Kerler, Pump.fun set out to democratize the creation of meme coins. The platform allows anyone to launch and trade Pumpfun meme coins with just a few clicks and a few dollars.
On Pumpfun Solana, users can upload an image, select a ticker, and watch as their coin enters the high-risk world of meme coin trading.
No complex setup, no approvals, no barriers to entry. Pump.fun token creation became the starting point for thousands of meme coin projects, attracting risk-takers, traders, and even celebrities looking for quick profits.
From Zero to $500 Million: The Rise of Pump.fun
By mid-2024, the Pump.fun crypto boom had evolved into a full-blown cultural phenomenon.
The platform’s bonding curve pricing model gave early investors the advantage of buying in at low prices, while rising demand quickly pushed token values higher.
Some tokens surged from $1,000 to $10 million in market capitalization within just a few hours.
The numbers were astonishing:
- $60 million in transaction fees within the first six months
- 1 million tokens created by July 2024
- $250 million in revenue by November 2024
- Celebrity-backed tokens from Caitlyn Jenner, Iggy Azalea, Jason Derulo, and more
Even Donald Trump jumped in. In January 2025, just days before his second presidential inauguration, he launched the TRUMP token, which skyrocketed to a $27 billion market cap overnight.
However, success came at a price. As the number of tokens on Pump.fun surged, scandals grew just as fast.
Madness Unleashed: The Wild West of Crypto Streaming
At the height of the Pump.fun crypto boom, the platform became more than just a meme coin casino—it turned into a full-blown spectacle.
In mid-2024, the platform introduced live streaming as a way to promote Pumpfun meme coins, but things quickly spiraled out of control.
What started as a simple marketing tool evolved into pure chaos. Some streamers claimed to be broadcasting from inside U.S. prisons.
One even threatened to stage a mock drowning live on air. Others turned their streams into explicit adult content.
However, live Russian roulette streams became the most shocking twist for the community.
Then came Gen Z Quant, a 13-year-old trader who leveraged Pump.fun streaming to build hype around his token. He cashed out nearly $60,000 in profit, with the token's market cap reaching $1 million.
However, the crypto community decided to strike back. They deliberately pumped the token, pushing its market cap to $85 million. The internet quickly doxxed the teenager, exposing his real name, home address, and school.
By November 2024, the situation had become so toxic that Pump.fun was forced to halt its streaming feature, citing the heightened levels of activity and the need for enhanced moderation infrastructure.
But the damage was already done.
Platform activity dropped by 69%, and for the first time in months, revenue fell below $2 million. In addition, regulators started watching the platform more closely.
Regulatory Crackdowns and Legal Battles
The meteoric rise of Pump.fun quickly caught the attention of regulators.
By December 2024, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) forced the platform to ban access for all British users. In January 2025, a New York investor filed a lawsuit against Pump.fun, accusing it of operating as an unregistered securities exchange after suffering losses on the PNUT meme coin.
Meanwhile, meme coin scams continued to spread.
Pump.fun promised its meme coins would be protected from fraud, but in practice, the platform became a breeding ground for rug pulls and celebrity-driven cash grabs:
Launched in December 2024, this meme coin skyrocketed to a $490 million market cap in just 15 minutes, only to crash by 93% shortly after. It was later revealed that most of the tokens were concentrated in just ten wallets. Insiders quickly dumped their holdings, selling off millions of dollars worth of tokens at the expense of retail investors caught in the hype.
A failed token project linked to Caitlyn Jenner and Jason Derulo. Both were accused of using their fanbases as exit liquidity, as massive sell-offs followed immediately after launch.
- Fartcoin (FART)
A meme coin that surged to a $1 billion market cap at the height of the Pump.fun crypto boom in early 2025 before collapsing just as fast.
At this point, Pump.fun was no longer just making people rich—it was destroying trust in meme coin trading.
The Future of Pump.fun: Crypto Boom or Bust?
Despite the scandals, Pump.fun hasn’t disappeared—and shows no signs of stopping.
It remains one of the most active platforms for meme coin launches, with a pricing model that keeps early investors constantly searching for the next big token.
However, its long-term future remains uncertain.
As regulators tighten their grip and lawsuits continue to mount, Pump.fun may soon have to choose between adapting or fading away.
Regardless of what lies ahead, Pump.fun has already carved its name into the history of the meme coin frenzy.
The game is still on.
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