Pump.fun Launches ICO, Raises $500 Million Within Minutes
Pump.fun raised $500 million in an ICO that sold out in 12 minutes, with 33% of its 1 trillion PUMP token supply allocated to the ICO. Of this allotment, 18% was for institutional investors and 15% for retail traders. The ICO indicates a potential revival of the memecoin sector, which had declined after being a top-performing asset class in 2024. It also suggests a resurgence of ICOs, previously hindered by regulatory pressures under former SEC chairman Gary Gensler. The crypto community is divided on Pump.fun's impact, with some viewing it positively and others criticizing its influence on Gen Z. Coinbase's Conor Grogan noted that many tokens on memecoin platforms are generated by automated bots, with one individual responsible for creating approximately 18,000 tokens on Pump.fun.
