Pump.fun co-founder denies $436M cash out, claims it was ‘treasury management’

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Pseudonymous Pump.fun co-founder Sapijiju rejected claims that the task cashed retired much than $436 cardinal successful stablecoins, calling the allegations “complete misinformation” from the blockchain analytics steadfast Lookonchain.

In an X post, Sapijiju addressed the report, insisting that nary of the transferred funds were sold. He said the USDC originated from the PUMP token’s initial coin offering (ICO) and was simply redistributed to interior wallets arsenic portion of the company’s treasury absorption process.

“What’s happening is simply a portion of Pump’s treasury management, wherever USDC from the $PUMP ICO has been transferred into antithetic wallets truthful the company’s runway tin beryllium reinvested into the business,” Sapijiju. “Pump has ne'er straight worked with Circle.”

Treasury absorption happens erstwhile a task allocates, stores and moves its funds, specified arsenic operating capital, ICO proceeds oregon reserves, to guarantee it tin proceed running. The transfers don’t needfully bespeak selling and tin simply impact wallet reorganization and preparing budgets for aboriginal developments.

Cointelegraph reached retired to Lookonchain and Pump.fun, but had not received a effect by publication.

Fund question sparked fears of selling pressure

Sapijiju’s comments came aft Lookonchain reported that wallets linked to the Solana memecoin launchpad had moved $436 cardinal successful USDC to the crypto speech Kraken since mid-October, which was wide interpreted arsenic a large-scale cash-out.

The money movements coincided with Pump’s monthly gross falling beneath $40 cardinal for the archetypal clip since July, declining to $27.3 cardinal successful November, according to DefiLlama data.

Despite this, information platforms DefiLlama, Arkham and Lookonchain showed that the Pump.fun-tagged wallet inactive holds implicit $855 cardinal successful stablecoins and $211 cardinal successful Solana (SOL).

Nicolai Sondergaard, probe expert astatine crypto quality level Nansen, interpreted the perceived sell-off arsenic a precursor to further selling. However, EmberCN said that the funds originated from organization backstage placements of the PUMP token, alternatively than progressive dumping.

Community divided betwixt skepticism, defence and calls for audits

The community’s effect to Sapijiju’s mentation was divided. Some argued that the wording raised much questions, portion others supported Pump.fun’s close to negociate its ain treasury.

X idiosyncratic Voss stated that determination were contradictions successful the statement, arsenic the co-founder claimed it wasn’t progressive successful the transportation portion besides stating that they were managing their treasury. “Definitely didn’t conscionable contradict yourself connected a station you had 10 hrs to respond to,” Voss wrote.

Another assemblage member, with the grip EthSheepwhale, dismissed Sapijiju’s announcement wholly and criticized what they described arsenic “price manipulation via airdrops” and mediocre execution that near the token trading beneath its offering price.

CoinGecko information showed that the PUMP token trades astatine $0.002714, down 32% from its ICO terms of $0.004. The token is besides down by astir 70% from its September precocious of $0.0085.

Meanwhile, immoderate assemblage members offered much sympathy portion saying that the existent contented lies beyond wallet flows and into transparency astir reserves.

User Matty.Sol said that Pump.fun had the close to deploy its gross and ICO proceeds nevertheless it chose. “Nothing incorrect adjacent if it’s true. It’s your ain gross tho,” Matty wrote.

User Oga NFT said that moving USDC is what morganatic projects bash aft an ICO, and the cardinal question is whether USDC reserves genuinely backmost the circulating supply.

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