Meme coin launchpad Pump.fun and its founders are back in the spotlight, and once again, it’s for all the wrong reasons.
Summary
- A new federal lawsuit alleges Pump.fun and its partners ran a meme coin operation designed to defraud users.
- Over 98% of Pump.fun tokens failed within 24 hours, according to court filing.
- Controversy around Pump.fun has been heating up lately.
A recently amended class action lawsuit is turning up the pressure on Pump.fun, accusing the Solana-based platform of operating an illegal scheme that systematically drained retail traders through rigged token launches and insider-driven trades.
Filed in the Southern District of New York, the lawsuit alleges that Pump.fun, its founders and affiliates, along with Jito Labs, Solana Labs, and the Solana Foundation, orchestrated a full blown racketeering scheme, using flashy marketing, automated bonding curves, and bots to exploit users.
Pump.fun’s ‘memecoin casino pumped and dumped:’ Lawsuit
Plaintiffs point to over 11 million tokens launched via Pump.fun between January 2024 and mid-2025. Of these, over 98% collapsed within 24 hours. The lawsuit argues that these tokens weren’t investments, but digital scratch tickets designed to generate transaction fees, not long-term value.
The platform reportedly earned more than $722 million in fees from the activity. When including Solana and Jito Labs, the total revenue tied to the alleged scheme surpasses $3.18 billion. Plaintiffs say all parties worked together to create what they call the “Meme Coin Casino,” where token launches mimicked slot machine mechanics and early access was reserved for bots and insiders.
“Pump.fun designed the gambling mechanics to be structurally exploitable, and Jito Labs served the role of rigging the games,” read the filing. The structure mimics a rigged slot machine where the first few players win by dumping their tokens on later ones. There is no underlying project, product, or revenue—only a fast-moving cycle of buying, dumping, and collapse.”
The latest amendments build on complaints filed earlier this year.
Older lawsuits, same story
As previously reported by crypto.news, two separate cases were already filed against Pump.fun by the same legal team, accusing the platform of the same pattern of fraud and misconduct.
At the time, the filings focused on tokens like FWOG, Griffain, and Peanut the Squirrel, which were all launched on the platform before collapsing shortly after. In both lawsuits, plaintiffs alleged that the memecoin launchpad collaborated with influencers and leaned heavily into meme marketing to drive speculative frenzy, while quietly extracting hundreds of millions in trading and launch fees.
The latest case builds on that narrative and adds new allegations, including racketeering, wire fraud, and gambling violations. This adds to the growing wave of scrutiny on Pump.fun, including concerns over its recent native token launch, insider dumps, and more.
Despite mounting legal pressure, the platform continues to rake in revenue. As of July 24, data from Dune Analytics shows Pump.fun has generated more than $630 million in total earnings.
Source link