Despite being the most influential new decentralized finance (DeFi) product of 2024, Solana-based memecoin launchpad pumpfun is struggling after launching its token this year, and following a new development in the platform’s ongoing legal dispute, the PUMP token is now trading more than 50% below its ICO price.
PUMP is now changing hands at a fully diluted valuation (FDV) of just $ 1.7 billion and a market capitalization of $1 billion.
Like most altcoins, PUMP has struggled since the mass liquidation event of October 10. However, many holders assumed the token would hold up better than other altcoins, considering the protocol has purchased 15% of the circulating supply off the market since it began running token buybacks.
Pumpfun is using 100% of its daily revenue to buy back PUMP, and has been averaging $1 million a day, even while the memecoin space struggles to reclaim its former glory.
The token is down an additional 12% today, potentially driven by a new development in the ongoing legal case against pumpfun led by the controversial crypto-focused law firm, Burwick Law.
Questionable Legal Claims
Last night, Burwick shared on X that it had filed a Notice of Defendant Misconduct against pumpfun’s operating corporation, Baton Corp Ltd. The notice alleges that, since December 15, the plaintiff’s counsel has identified and documented what it considers harassment, threats of violence, misappropriation, and targeting.
As the filing makes its way through the judicial system, it is worth noting that most of these claims link back to the fact that anonymous users on Pumpfun launched memecoins pertaining to the plaintiff, and there is no publicly available proof that pumpfun or its team have any ties to such activity, other than operating the platform they were launched on.
Given the memecoin space’s tendencies, the tokens were almost certainly launched by malicious actors looking to make a quick buck off the case’s relevance.
The “threat of violence” comes from a user on X who has a questionable online past, including shilling and rug-pulling microcap memecoins. This user is an affiliate of Padre, the trading terminal app that was recently acquired by pumpfun, but is not a member of the team.
On the back of the filing, they simply posted, “I'm going to jail.”
