Pump.fun’s newly launched token, PUMP, has plunged below its $0.004 ICO price. With the price now standing at $0.003739, the drop follows major sell-offs by top whale investors and early backers.
One large holder, known as “PUMP Top Fund 1,” bought 25 billion PUMP tokens for $100 million. As per Lookonchain, he has already deposited 17 billion PUMP, worth $89.5 million, to exchanges. Another whale, “PUMP Top Fund 2,” offloaded all his 12.5 billion tokens, valued at $71.37 million. These early exits have triggered sharp price volatility.
Lately, market makers have been making some big moves. On July 15, EyeOnChain reported that DWF Labs snagged 2.5 billion PUMP, valued at around $17.4 million. Meanwhile, Wintermute acquired $97 million worth of PUMP and may act as an official market maker. However, these developments haven’t eased market fears, especially as trading volume surged to $722 million in 24 hours.
Massive ICO But Limited Utility
According to Chainalysis, Pump.fun raised nearly $600 million in 12 minutes on July 10, making it the third-largest ICO ever in the history of cryptocurrency. The project allocated 33% of its 1 trillion token supply, with 18% going to institutions. These tokens were unlocked instantly, which allowed early buyers to dump holdings quickly. Consequently, this diluted the price almost immediately.
Right now, PUMP is missing some solid utility. The main thing driving its value is a token buyback plan, where Pump.fun has pledged 25% of its protocol revenue for them. Recently, a buyback involving 187,770 SOL gave prices a quick boost of 17%.
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