The public token sale of PUMP, the native token of Pump.fun, concluded on July 12 after just 12 minutes, raising over $500 million. The sale had originally been scheduled to run for 72 hours but sold out shortly after launch due to overwhelming demand.
While the offering was one of the fastest ICOs to date, the event was accompanied by multiple technical issues at participating exchanges, leading to widespread user complaints and calls for greater transparency.
High Demand and Token Allocation
Pump.fun sold 150 billion PUMP tokens at a fixed price of $0.004 each. The sale represented 15% of the total 1 trillion token supply. However, blockchain data indicates that only 12.5% of the supply was distributed during the public offering, raising questions about the status of the remaining 2.5% of the allocation. No official explanation has been provided for the shortfall.
Approximately 23,959 wallets completed KYC verification for the ICO, but only 10,145 of them were able to successfully purchase tokens. On average, successful buyers acquired $44,209 worth of PUMP. Although the majority of participating wallets acquired less than $1,000, several high-value purchases were recorded. Over 200 wallets each bought more than $1 million worth of tokens.
Technical Failures at Major Exchanges
The token sale was conducted both on the Pump.fun platform and via several centralized exchanges, including Bybit, Kraken, KuCoin, Bitget, MEXC, and Gate. Due to the high demand, multiple platforms experienced technical disruptions.
Bybit cited an API delay as the cause of an oversubscription, which resulted in some users’ funds being locked temporarily. The exchange has promised full refunds for affected users but has not yet confirmed the total number impacted. Bybit’s public communication acknowledged the issue:
Kraken also experienced failures during the event. Some users were unable to complete their token purchases despite placing orders within the sale window. In response, Kraken co-founder Arjun Sethi announced that the exchange would automatically airdrop PUMP tokens to users identified through internal logs as having been affected by system constraints. The airdrop will be free of charge and based on verified order attempts.
Due to regulatory restrictions, investors in the United States and United Kingdom were prohibited from participating in both the private and public sales. Bybit also excluded EU residents from the offering on its platform.
Price Movements and Market Impact
Following the ICO, the price of PUMP surged on futures platforms. Within hours, the token reached $0.0078, reflecting a fully diluted valuation of $2.5 billion. As of today, the token is trading at approximately $0.0065, with a market capitalization of $1.6 billion.
The tokens remain untradeable and untransferable until the distribution phase ends, which is expected to be completed within 48 to 72 hours after the sale. Secondary market trading is scheduled to begin shortly after that.
Tokenomics and Distribution
According to official details, 33% of the total supply has been allocated for initial distribution. This includes 18% distributed during a prior private sale at the same price and 15% intended for the public ICO. The total proceeds from both rounds amount to approximately $1.32 billion.
The tokenomics structure indicates that 50% of the total token supply will be unlocked by the end of July, expanding to 70% by mid-2026. Pump.fun has stated that 25% of platform revenue will be used for token buybacks, though exact details of this mechanism have not been published.
Community and Industry Reactions
The ICO generated mixed reactions from the crypto community. While some market participants described the event as a major fundraising milestone, others expressed concerns about accessibility, exchange performance, and the lack of clear communication from the project team.
Critics also pointed to an earlier statement from Pump.fun co-founder Alon Cohen, who had previously described presales as a means to “put raised funds in your pocket”, prompting skepticism from some observers.
Calls have emerged from parts of the community for a more transparent, timestamped audit of transaction logs and token allocation, particularly in light of the technical disruptions and allocation discrepancies.
Summary
The PUMP ICO has become one of the largest and fastest public sales in crypto this year, raising over half a billion dollars in minutes. However, unresolved questions about token distribution, technical errors on partner exchanges, and a lack of detailed post-sale communication have led to increased scrutiny.
