Pump.fun’s Massive $436m Cash-out Turns Heads As Memecoin Mania Fades

A decline in speculative crypto investor appetite has seen Pump.fun’s revenue fall by 50% since October, raising concerns about incoming selling pressure.

Memecoin launchpad Pump.fun has cashed out more than $436 million in stablecoins since October’s record crypto market crash throttled trading activity and slashed the platform’s monthly revenue.

Since Oct. 15, the Solana-based memecoin launchpad transferred $436 million in USDC (USDC) stablecoins to cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, signaling the platform’s operators were cashing out, according to blockchain data platform Lookonchain.

Pump.fun began transferring millions in stablecoins to the exchange a week after the record $19 billion October crypto market crash had cut speculative appetite among memecoin investors.

Pump.fun’s monthly revenue fell below $40 million for the first time since July, dropping to $27.3 million in November, down 53% from September’s $58.9 million, according to data from DefiLlama.

Cointelegraph contacted Pump.fun for comment on the reason behind the selling and whether the platform plans future token liquidations. A spokesperson for Pump.fun said the “relevant team” is working on a comment and will respond “when they have the time.”

Related: Bitcoin rout continues as crypto treasuries face reckoning: Finance Redefined

Pump’s large-scale transfers triggered criticism among crypto investors, who saw it as a potential precursor for more selling pressure from the platform.

Memecoin trading activity had been trending down before the October market crash, which “accelerated” the slowdown, according to Nicolai Sondergaard, research analyst at crypto intelligence platform Nansen.

“Retail got burned repeatedly over the past few months, so the drop-off we’re seeing now is a continuation of that,” the analyst told Cointelegraph, adding:

Source: CoinTelegraph