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{"actor":"system:backfill","investigation_id":"cb4fa2c8-da5a-4b47-b070-7b61d3112ebd","kind":"publish","page_slug":"pumpdotfun","published_at":"2026-05-18T20:15:23.610Z","sequence_num":1,"snapshot":{"content_type":"investigation","entity_name":"pump.fun","sections":[{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[]}],"sources_used":[{"credibility":2,"name":"PumpDotFun","type":"social_media","url":"https://t.me/zachxbt/225"},{"credibility":2,"name":"pump.fun - Wikipedia","type":"other","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pump.fun"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Pump.fun public program documentation (pump-fun/pump-public-docs on GitHub)","type":"official","url":"https://github.com/pump-fun/pump-public-docs/blob/main/docs/PUMP_PROGRAM_README.md"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Pump.fun AMM program on Solscan","type":"on_chain","url":"https://solscan.io/account/pAMMBay6oceH9fJKBRHGP5D4bD4sWpmSwMn52FMfXEA"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Pump.fun identifies $1.9 million exploiter as former employee - The Block","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/295029/pump-fun-post-mortem"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Pump.fun pauses trading after apparent flash loan attack - Blockworks","type":"news_article","url":"https://blockworks.com/news/pump-fun-flash-loan-attack"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Pump.fun halts trading after suffering flash loan exploit - CryptoSlate","type":"news_article","url":"https://cryptoslate.com/pump-fun-halts-trading-after-suffering-flash-loan-exploit/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Former Pump.fun employee arrested - CryptoSlate","type":"news_article","url":"https://cryptoslate.com/former-solana-based-pump-fun-employee-arrested-after-1-9-million-crypto-exploit/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Pump.fun exploiter arrested in London - Blockworks","type":"news_article","url":"https://blockworks.co/news/pump-dot-fun-exploiter-arrest-london"},{"credibility":2,"name":"'I'll Be Fine' in Prison: Pump.fun Attacker Pleads Guilty in London - Decrypt","type":"news_article","url":"https://decrypt.co/244308/pump-fun-attacker-pleads-guilty-london"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Ex-Pump.fun Dev Jailed in London for Bail Breach - CryptoNews","type":"news_article","url":"https://cryptonews.com/news/ex-pump-fun-dev-behind-2m-theft-jailed-in-london-for-bail-breach-faces-7-years-prison/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"May 2024 Pump.Fun Insider Flash Loan Exploit Case Study - Quadriga Initiative","type":"research","url":"https://quadrigainitiative.com/casestudy/pumpfuninsiderflashloanexploit.php"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Solana Rug Pulls and Pump-and-Dumps Report - Solidus Labs","type":"research","url":"https://www.soliduslabs.com/reports/solana-rug-pulls-pump-dumps-crypto-compliance"},{"credibility":1,"name":"98% of Tokens on Pump.fun Have Been Rug Pulls - CoinDesk","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2025/05/07/98-of-tokens-on-pump-fun-have-been-rug-pulls-or-an-act-of-fraud-new-report-says"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Pump.fun faces backlash over harmful livestream content - CoinTelegraph","type":"news_article","url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/pump-fun-livestream-backlash-content"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Pump.fun halts livestreams indefinitely - CryptoBriefing","type":"news_article","url":"https://cryptobriefing.com/pump-fun-livestream-halt/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Pump.fun livestreams plunge into chaos - Cryptopolitan","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.cryptopolitan.com/pump-fun-livestreams-plunge-into-chaos/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Pump.fun Resumes Livestreams With New Moderation Rules - CryptoNews","type":"news_article","url":"https://cryptonews.com/news/pump-fun-resumes-livestreams-with-new-moderation-rules/"},{"credibility":1,"name":"FCA issues warning bans Pump.fun in UK - CoinTelegraph","type":"regulatory","url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/fca-issues-warning-bans-pump-fun-uk"},{"credibility":2,"name":"UK FCA says Pump.fun lacks permission to do business - The Block","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/329804/uk-top-financial-regulator-says-pump-fun-doesnt-have-its-permission-to-do-business-in-the-country"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Pump.fun restricts UK access - Blockworks","type":"news_article","url":"https://blockworks.co/news/pumpdotfun-restricts-uk-access"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Pump.Fun Hit With Proposed Class Action Lawsuit - CoinDesk","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2025/01/30/pump-fun-hit-with-proposed-class-action-lawsuit-alleging-securities-violations"},{"credibility":1,"name":"PumpFun Class Action Complaint PDF - Wolf Popper LLP (SDNY)","type":"court_filing","url":"https://www.wolfpopper.com/siteFiles/Cases/PumpFun_Class_Complaint.pdf"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Pump.fun Lawsuit Alleges $5.5B Slot Machine-Like Scheme - CoinTelegraph","type":"news_article","url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/pump-fun-lawsuit-slot-machine-rico"},{"credibility":2,"name":"$5.5B Lawsuit Hits Pump.Fun, Solana and Jito - Hodder Law","type":"other","url":"https://hodder.law/pumpfun-solana-jito-lawsuit-2025/"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Meme coins alleged to be securities in two new class actions - DLA Piper","type":"research","url":"https://www.dlapiper.com/en-us/insights/publications/2025/02/meme-coins-alleged-to-be-securities-in-two-new-class-actions"},{"credibility":1,"name":"He Built Memecoin Factory Pump.Fun. Did He Make a Small Fortune Dumping His Own Shitcoins as a Teen? - WIRED","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.wired.com/story/pumpfun-founder-memecoin-rugpulls-teen/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Pump Fun co-founder Dylan Kerler linked to 2017 ICO scams - Protos","type":"news_article","url":"https://protos.com/pump-fun-co-founder-dylan-kerler-linked-to-2017-ico-scams-report/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Lazarus Group's Meme Coin Removed from Pump.fun - AInvest","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.ainvest.com/news/lazarus-group-meme-coin-removed-pump-fun-money-laundering-crackdown-2502/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Lazarus Group launches meme coin to launder Bybit funds - Cryptopolitan","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.cryptopolitan.com/lazarus-group-meme-coin-launder-26m-bybit/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"What Is Pump.fun? The Solana Meme Coin Factory - Decrypt","type":"news_article","url":"https://decrypt.co/resources/what-is-pump-fun-the-solana-meme-coin-factory"},{"credibility":2,"name":"How traders make $60k/week rugging 98% of memecoins on Pump.Fun - CryptoSlate","type":"news_article","url":"https://cryptoslate.com/how-traders-make-over-60k-per-week-rugging-98-of-memecoins-on-pumpfun/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Solana Meme Coin Launchpad Pump.fun Bans UK Users - Decrypt","type":"news_article","url":"https://decrypt.co/295355/solana-pump-fun-bans-uk-users-regulator"}],"summary":"pump.fun (operated by Baton Corporation Ltd., also listed on AVOID.NET as 'pumpdotfun') is a Solana-based meme token launchpad that launched in January 2024 and rapidly became one of the most-used token creation platforms in crypto, generating over $800 million in cumulative revenue and more than 11.9 million tokens. The platform is subject to an active RICO class action lawsuit in the SDNY alleging up to $5.5 billion in retail losses, a UK FCA regulatory ban, a $1.9 million insider flash loan exploit, documented use by North Korea's Lazarus Group for money laundering, and independent research classifying 98.6% of its tokens as rug pulls or fraud.","timeline":[{"date":"2024-01-19","event":"pump.fun launches on Solana as a meme token launchpad with a bonding curve mechanism.","source":"","source_url":"https://www.21shares.com/en-us/insights/pump-fun-101-the-meme-coin-platform-powering-solana"},{"date":"2024-05-16","event":"Former employee Jarett Dunn (STACCOverflow) exploits pump.fun via MarginFi flash loans, stealing approximately $1.9 million (12,300 SOL) using a privileged service account key.","source":"","source_url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/294959/solana-token-launcher-pump-fun-suffers-flash-loan-exploit"},{"date":"2024-05-17","event":"Jarett Dunn is arrested by London Metropolitan Police at the Middle Eight Hotel, Covent Garden. He is charged with alleged theft from employer and released on bail.","source":"","source_url":"https://blockworks.co/news/pump-dot-fun-exploiter-arrest-london"},{"date":"2024-08-01","event":"pump.fun removes its 0.02 SOL token creation fee, further lowering barriers to token launches.","source":"","source_url":"https://phemex.com/academy/what-is-pump-fun-solana-meme-coin-launchpad-pump-token"},{"date":"2024-12-03","event":"UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) publishes official warning that pump.fun is unauthorized to operate in the UK.","source":"","source_url":"https://www.fca.org.uk/news/warnings/pumpfun"},{"date":"2024-12-06","event":"pump.fun updates its terms of service and implements a geoblock to ban UK users, in response to the FCA warning.","source":"","source_url":"https://cryptoslate.com/pump-fun-updates-terms-to-block-uk-users-days-after-fca-warning/"},{"date":"2025-01-16","event":"Initial class action lawsuit filed in SDNY over pump.fun's alleged securities violations, anchored to the $PNUT token.","source":"","source_url":"https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69593359/aguilar-v-baton-corporation-ltd-dba-pumpfun/"},{"date":"2025-01-30","event":"Second class action complaint filed in SDNY (Aguilar v. Baton Corporation Ltd.), naming Baton Corporation and co-founders Cohen, Kerler, and Tweedale. Cases later consolidated.","source":"","source_url":"https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2025/01/30/pump-fun-hit-with-proposed-class-action-lawsuit-alleging-securities-violations"},{"date":"2025-02-26","event":"pump.fun's official X account (@pumpdotfun) is hacked; attackers promote a fraudulent 'PUMP' governance token that briefly reaches a $5 million market cap before collapsing. ZachXBT links the breach to prior X account hacks.","source":"","source_url":"https://decrypt.co/307857/pump-fun-x-account-hacked-solana-meme-coin"},{"date":"2025-02-26","event":"Lazarus Group, following the $1.5 billion Bybit hack, deploys a meme coin (QinShihuang) on pump.fun to launder approximately $26 million in stolen funds. pump.fun later removes the token from its front end.","source":"","source_url":"https://www.cryptopolitan.com/lazarus-group-meme-coin-launder-26m-bybit/"},{"date":"2025-03-20","event":"pump.fun launches PumpSwap, a proprietary Solana AMM that replaces Raydium as the graduation destination for bonding curve tokens. PumpSwap rapidly becomes the second-largest Solana AMM by volume.","source":"","source_url":"https://blockworks.com/news/pumpswap-large-amm-solana"},{"date":"2025-05-07","event":"Solidus Labs publishes report classifying 98.6% of pump.fun tokens as rug pulls or pump-and-dump schemes, based on analysis of over 7 million tokens. pump.fun disputes the findings.","source":"","source_url":"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2025/05/07/98-of-tokens-on-pump-fun-have-been-rug-pulls-or-an-act-of-fraud-new-report-says"},{"date":"2025-07-22","event":"Amended RICO complaint filed in SDNY, expanding defendants to include Solana Labs, Solana Foundation, Jito Labs, and senior executives. Estimated retail losses cited as $4–5.5 billion.","source":"","source_url":"https://cryptoslate.com/solana-labs-jito-labs-hit-with-rico-charges-in-amended-pump-fun-fraud-lawsuit/"},{"date":"2025-09-30","event":"Jito Labs, the Jito Foundation, and Jito leadership voluntarily dismissed from the RICO class action.","source":"","source_url":"https://www.wolfpopper.com/news/pumpfun-class-action-lawsuit-expands-with-consolidated-amended-complaint-adding-rico-allegations-and-new-defendants"},{"date":"2025-12-11","event":"Judge Colleen McMahon approves filing of second amended complaint after plaintiffs obtain over 5,000 private messages from Solana Labs and pump.fun engineers.","source":"","source_url":"https://yellow.com/news/judge-approves-expansion-of-solana-pumpfun-lawsuit-after-5000-internal-chats-surface"}]},"v":1}