Is the PUMP Token Just Another Meme or a Massive Rug Pull in Disguise?

After weeks of speculation, hype, and an alleged $4 billion valuation, Pump.fun’s long-awaited PUMP token launch turned into a messy vanishing act more than a milestone moment.

The rumored $600 million Initial Exchange Offering (IEO) on Gate.io has been cancelled, the dev team is silent, and the user base is rapidly shrinking. Market participants wonder if PUMP is the next big utility token or just another meme masking a rug pull.

Earlier this month, a token sale page appeared on Gate.io, revealing plans to sell 150 billion PUMP tokens at $0.004 each, representing 15% of the total supply. The offering, scheduled for July 12, would’ve valued Pump.fun at $4 billion.

There was no upper limit on participation, just a minimum buy-in. Within hours, screenshots of the page went viral. Then, .

The page was scrubbed from both the English and Chinese Gate.io sites, replaced with dead links and vague messages. Gate.io’s support issued a generic statement blaming “negotiations between Gate and the project,” while providing no timeline for its return.

Meanwhile, not a word was heard from co-founder Alon Cohen or the official Pump.fun team. For a project built on transparency and decentralization, such behavior raises red flags.

At its peak in January 2025, Pump.fun was the undisputed king of meme coin launches on Solana, raking in $7 million in daily revenue and facilitating over 11 million token creations. Fast forward to July, and the platform’s revenue has plummeted to just over $500,000 per day, an 86% crash, .

Worse, the number of tokens “graduating” from Pump.fun’s protocol (i.e., those successfully launched with trading volume and community) has from 1,168 in January to just 70 today. Trading volume is down 75%, and user engagement appears to be in freefall.

Rival launchpad . On July 6, it hosted nearly 17,000 token launches, far outpacing Pump.fun’s 10,000.

It’s now clocking over $1 million in daily revenue, thanks to a clever model that directs 50% of platform fees into buying and burning $BONK, creating sustainable price support and deepening user loyalty. Pump.fun defenders pointed to projects like Hyperliquid, which boast sky-high valuations despite modest revenue.

But unlike Hyperliquid, which enjoys steady earnings and clear roadmaps, Pump.fun is bleeding users, releasing no utility details, and backtracking on a token launch that was supposed to “reward the community.”