Pump.fun Makes a U-Turn With Presale Despite Anti-ICO History

PUMP Presale is officially happening on July 12, with 330 billion tokens up for grabs via ICO-style distribution. This marks a surprising pivot for Pump.fun, a Solana-based meme coin launchpad.

The platform once prided itself on being anti-presale and anti-ICO. Now, it’s diving headfirst into the very thing it swore off, raising eyebrows and reigniting conversations about decentralization, bots, and fair launches.

From Anti-ICO Claims to a Major Presale Push

The founder of Pump.fun previously called ICOs and presales “scams,” claiming they enabled insiders to dump on retail. That very stance helped Pump.fun attract users who were fed up with VC-led token launches.

However, this week, the team confirmed a full-fledged PUMP Presale, and the narrative has flipped. The new justification? This presale will “strengthen the brand and reward the community.”

Earlier tweets show a complete reversal in messaging. Where the platform once mocked presales as centralized cash grabs, it’s now allegedly pitching the same playbook.

There are 330 billion tokens, or 33% of the total supply, up for sale, with locked liquidity and vesting to “protect” users. While some long-time users feel betrayed, others are simply riding the hype.

Presale announcements confirm a Bitget listing post-sale, with Gate offering 150 million tokens at $0.004 each. Gate’s allocation only represents 0.015% of the supply, not the full raise.

Kraken and Bybit have also officially confirmed participation.

Trading Already? The Hyperliquid Question

Adding to the confusion, the PUMP token is already trading on Hyperliquid, a decentralized perpetuals exchange.

One of the screenshots shows the token listed as “PUMP,” with live trades happening even before the token officially launches.

This is likely synthetic trading, where HyperLiquid lets users speculate on future prices based on expectations.

What makes this odd is that most users don’t realize the PUMP Presale hasn’t even begun.

This creates a strange feedback loop: price speculation before launch, which then feeds into FOMO for the actual presale.

And if bots dominate the presale, as they’ve done with many Pump.fun projects, it could lead to a highly concentrated supply among snipers who already bet on the token.

One tweet also highlights the irony: Pump.fun always marketed itself as “bot-resistant.” Yet, data shows bots flooding in during earlier token launches on the same platform.

Now, with a formal presale, bot behavior could become even more intense.

Pump.fun Tokenomics and the Real Game Behind the Hype

Let’s break down the tokenomics using the official figures shared by Pump.fun.

The total supply of PUMP tokens will be 1 trillion (1,000,000,000,000). Of this, 33% (330 billion tokens) will be sold through the presale.

Bitget is handling the main token sale, while Gate.com (gate.io subsidiary) is offering just 150 million tokens, a sliver of the full allocation.

The remaining tokens are split across several buckets:

• 24% for community and ecosystem initiatives
• 20% to the team
• 13% to existing investors
• 3% for livestreaming
• 2.6% for liquidity and exchanges
• 2.4% to the ecosystem fund
• 2% for the foundation

There’s a standard vesting model expected for team and investor allocations, but no public audit or whitepaper has yet clarified these timelines.

The presale will take place on Pump.fun itself, with users able to participate directly through the launchpad. But critics have pointed out that this structure still allows whales to scoop large chunks early or position themselves for an early price move.

Despite the criticism, Pump.fun is leaning into its meme roots to drive demand. The founder has been active on X, reposting memes, teasing listings, and hinting at airdrops for early adopters.