Pump.fun Unleashes PUMP Token ICO

Pump.fun Launches Its Flagship PUMP Token

Solana-based meme coin launchpad Pump.fun is about to throw one of the wildest token launches of the year. The platform officially confirmed that its PUMP token will go live via a massive ICO on July 12, with the sale running until July 15 or until 150 billion tokens are sold—whichever comes first.

According to the announcement, PUMP will be listed on major exchanges including Bybit, Kraken, KuCoin, Gate.io, Bitget, and MEXC, while the official Pump.fun website will also serve as a launchpad. The catch? Users from the U.S. and U.K. are completely barred from participating, due to regulatory pressure.

Once the sale concludes, PUMP tokens will become transferable between July 17–18, with an airdrop coming soon, the team added.

ICO Goes Retro—But With Big Ambitions

Alon Cohen, co-founder of Pump.fun, said the team opted for a traditional ICO format to maximize distribution among “a really wide audience who are genuinely aligned with the project.”

Cohen emphasized that Pump.fun’s goal isn’t just to launch tokens—it’s to reshape meme coin culture entirely. That means more focus on quality, utility, and yes—livestreaming.

The announcement stated that the team plans to “kill Facebook, TikTok, and Twitch. On Solana,” signaling an ambitious move to make meme coins more social, interactive, and engaging through creator-led experiences.

Tokenomics and Roadmap

The PUMP token will have a 1 trillion total supply, divided as follows:

• 33% for the ICO

• 24% for community and ecosystem support

• 20% for the Pump.fun team

• 13% to existing investors

• 10% reserved for liquidity, livestreaming tools, an ecosystem fund, and the project’s foundation

The team says it's currently exploring utility mechanisms such as fee rebates, token buybacks, and promo incentives to give the token more staying power.

Early Leaks and $600M Speculation

Before the official announcement dropped, Bybit and Gate.io accidentally leaked details about the ICO. Bybit Ukraine shared (and deleted) the full launch schedule ahead of time, confirming that European users would also face some restrictions. Meanwhile, Gate.io published and removed a page referencing a $600 million sale—a number that fueled major speculation online.

Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at Dragonfly, said on X that the PUMP ICO could be “one of the largest ever.” That’s a bold statement for a meme coin—but with Solana’s infrastructure, massive exchange support, and a hyped-up user base, it may not be far off.

What’s Next?

With tokens becoming transferable by July 18 and an airdrop "coming soon," the next two weeks will be a critical period for Pump.fun. Whether it becomes the next meme-fueled monster hit or fizzles under the weight of regulatory bans remains to be seen—but it’s clear the PUMP launch is already rewriting the ICO playbook in 2025.