Baton Corporation (Pump.fun)
Last changed 2026-10-10 · Score recalculated — Rescored under Scoring v2, the published formula (avoid.net/scoring): 7 → 26. Problems weighed by who is responsible: the subject's own conduct −50, concerns that are not fraud −33.2, problems around the subject, caused by others −7.7, incidents the subject suffered −6.4; legitimacy credit long-running +10; no established finding that it defrauded anyone, so it stays out of the red band; accepted community evidence −1.4. Version history →
Why this score
| Every page starts at | 65 |
| The subject's own conduct | -50 |
| Concerns that are not fraud | -33.2 |
| Incidents it suffered (e.g. hacks) | -6.4 |
| Problems around it, caused by others | -7.7 |
| Long-running | +10 |
| Accepted community evidence | -1.4 |
| Sum | -24 |
- No established finding that it defrauded anyone, so it stays out of the red band (26 or above).
Score: 26/100 (kept between 0 and 100)
How scoring works →Summary
Baton Corporation Ltd is the UK-registered company behind Pump.fun, a Solana-based memecoin launchpad launched on January 19, 2024 by Noah Tweedale, Alon Cohen and Dylan Kerler. The platform has earned hundreds of millions of dollars in fees; reported cumulative totals range from about $700 million to over $1 billion. Research by Solidus Labs classified 98.6% of the tokens it examined as rug pulls or pump-and-dump schemes. On August 31, 2026, a federal judge in the Southern District of New York allowed RICO claims against Baton Corporation and its three founders to proceed in Aguilar v. Baton Corporation Ltd. (1:25-cv-00880-CM), while dismissing the securities claims and clearing Solana Labs. The platform has also received a UK FCA warning and was used in a laundering attempt linked to North Korea's Lazarus Group. Its livestream and GO bounty features have drawn repeated harmful-content controversies, and its iOS app was removed from the U.S. and Indian App Stores in September 2026.
Connected Entities
188 entities · 58 linked investigations- Pump (PUMP)→associated with→pump.fun(80%)
- AqMcVb…Tnac→associated with→Pump(60%)
- nAdG2t…sCct→associated with→Pump(60%)
- 11VfMF…jcXZ→associated with→Pump(60%)
- 6zgDLM…ne8K→associated with→Pump(60%)
- 85WTuj…5ERS→controls→Pump(45%)
- Aq93J7…oU9k→associated with→Pump(60%)
- As7ma2…zxKf→associated with→Pump(60%)
- 8UhbNo…TogC→controls→Pump(59%)
- ERRGqu…dNYa→controls→Pump(43%)
- + 247 more
Live On-Chain Activity
1 address watched · via HeliusCommunity submissions
- https://www.wolfpopper.com/news/court-allows-rico-claims-against-pumpfun-and-founders-to-proceed(www.wolfpopper.com)
“August 31, 2026 SDNY ruling allowing RICO claims to proceed against Baton Corporation (Pump.fun) and its three named founders. RICO exposure is a material legal escalation — treble damages, potential criminal referral — not present in earlier coverage.”
— avoid-scout(unverified)
5 submissions awaiting moderator review.
Timeline(35 events)
2017
Dylan Kerler, then about 16, is alleged by WIRED to have launched the eBitcoinCash and EthereumCash tokens under pseudonymous forum accounts in what researchers allege were rug pulls. No law enforcement action or court finding has been reported.
Protos (citing WIRED)October 2017
EthereumCash falls about 87.9% over two days after alleged creator sales on EtherDelta; about $75,000 is reportedly extracted.
Protos (citing WIRED)March 2023
Baton Corporation Ltd is incorporated in England under Companies House number 14743013.
Companies House (UK Government)January 2024
Pump.fun launches on Solana, founded by Noah Tweedale, Alon Cohen and Dylan Kerler.
Wikipedia / Bitstamp / 21SharesMay 2024
Former employee Jarret Dunn uses flash loans and privileged withdraw-authority access to take about 12,300 SOL (about $1.9 million). Pump.fun pledges full restitution.
The BlockMay 2024
Dunn is arrested in London (dated May 17 or May 18 by different sources), charged with theft from an employer of $2 million and conspiracy to steal $80 million, and released on bail.
BlockworksNovember 2024
Livestream controversy grows over self-harm threats, animal abuse and other harmful content; Pump.fun suspends livestreaming indefinitely (dated November 25 or November 30 by different sources).
CryptoBriefing / DecryptDecember 2024
UK FCA publishes a formal warning that Pump.fun is not authorized to provide financial services in the UK.
FCA official warningDecember 2024
Pump.fun updates its terms of service and geoblocks UK users in response to the FCA warning.
CoinDeskJanuary 2025
A class action over the $PNUT token, alleging unregistered securities offerings, is filed in the SDNY.
DLA PiperJanuary 2025
Aguilar v. Baton Corporation Ltd (1:25-cv-00880) is filed in the SDNY against Baton Corporation and its three founders by Burwick Law and Wolf Popper LLP.
Wolf Popper LLPJanuary 2025
The TRUMP and MELANIA memecoins launch on Solana and later fall more than 90% and 96% respectively.
DecryptFebruary 2025
Burwick Law sends Pump.fun a cease-and-desist over memecoins using class plaintiffs' names and images and the firm's logo.
CryptoNewsFebruary 2025
ZachXBT links Lazarus Group wallets tied to the Bybit hack to the 'QinShihuang' memecoin on Pump.fun, associated with $26 million; Pump.fun blocks the token.
CoinTelegraph via TradingViewFebruary 2025
Pump.fun's official X account is hacked to promote a fake 'PUMP' governance token that briefly reaches a $5 million market cap.
DecryptMarch 2025
Pump.fun launches PumpSwap, its own AMM, replacing Raydium as the destination for graduated tokens.
BlockworksApril 2025
Livestreaming relaunches with a new moderation policy, initially for 5% of users.
BeInCryptoApril 2025
WIRED publishes its investigation linking co-founder Dylan Kerler to alleged 2017 rug pulls.
Protos (summary of WIRED)May 2025
Solidus Labs publishes a report classifying 98.6% of Pump.fun tokens as rug pulls or pump-and-dumps; Pump.fun disputes it.
CoinDeskJuly 2025
PUMP token ICO at $0.004 per token; reported proceeds are $500 million in about 12 minutes, or $1.3 billion including a private sale. U.S. and UK users are excluded.
CoinTelegraphJuly 2025
The Consolidated Amended Complaint adds Solana Labs, the Solana Foundation, Jito Labs, the Jito Foundation and executives, alleging a RICO enterprise and $4-5.5 billion in retail losses.
DecryptSeptember 2025
Jito Labs, the Jito Foundation and Jito leadership are dismissed from the class action; sources describe this as voluntary, or as a result of a motion to dismiss.
Wolf Popper LLPOctober 2025
Skadden announces that client Jito Labs has won dismissal of the class action claims against it.
SkaddenDecember 2025
Judge McMahon grants leave to file a Second Amended Complaint incorporating about 5,000 whistleblower-provided internal chat messages (dated December 9 or December 11 by different sources).
YellowDecember 2025
Burwick Law announces an investigation into reports that minors accessed Pump.fun.
Crypto TimesJanuary 2026
The Second Amended Consolidated Class Action Complaint is filed, incorporating the chat logs and RICO predicates.
Burwick Law case pageApril 2026
Pump.fun burns 36% of PUMP supply and commits 50% of net revenue to ongoing buybacks, abandoning its all-revenue burn policy.
CoinDeskJune 2026
Pump.fun launches the GO bounty platform; within hours, listings including a reported $690,000 suicide-linked bounty draw condemnation.
CryptoBriefingAugust 2026
Judge McMahon rules on the motions to dismiss: RICO claims survive against Baton Corporation and founders Tweedale, Cohen and Kerler, securities claims are dismissed, and Solana Labs, the Solana Foundation and their executives are cleared.
Crypto TimesSeptember 2026
Pump.fun launches Custom Pairs, letting memecoins be quoted against tokenized stocks including Boeing, Costco and Trump Media.
ProtosSeptember 2026
Apple removes the Pump.fun iOS app from the U.S. and Indian App Stores one day after the stock-pairs launch; PUMP falls about 12%.
ProtosDecision Log
- slot 455360296 · hash 2ZzaqFfDyjh7VZhZ27VMwTgqZxvdwynurNk8LW2ra6JV
- slot 454171089 · hash CX9A2Rm6WAqEhSAvi3bcY77YQe7EbRVvhJarqqbEHC4K
- slot 447099913 · hash 8x4V7iAakMDJimvEfamxtTHorrHEDWYc1XRv6uFqQtDZ
This investigation is cryptographically anchored to the Solana blockchain (3 decisions). 100 of 116 cited source URLs have an Internet Archive snapshot.
model: claude-code-merge-writer
generated: 9/14/2026, 11:18:29 PM
last updated: 10/10/2026, 6:41:18 PM
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