The rapid surge in volume on Pump.Fun, a trading platform, is reverberating once more across regulatory bodies and financial analysts.
According to experts, Pump.Fun’s business model is reminiscent of these multi-level marketing (MLM) schemes.
Typically, these could be exploiting the attention the digitized economy opens up for business.
Experts warn that such platforms carry risks to retail investors without regulatory oversight.
Analysts Highlight Pump.Fun’s MLM-Like Structure
Platforms like Pump.Fun work under the same structure as with MLM schemes. The early participants earn at the expense of the newcomers, and Pump drives the ecosystem of meme coins.
Fun encourages the production of these tokens with almost no underlying value to defraud new investors through viral marketing.
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The system works to grow the number of users and encourage them to recruit as many people as possible.
These people would purchase tokens so that prices inflate artificially before early adopters cash out for profits.
Recently, it was compared to a Ponzi scheme in which returns are based on new investors, not value creation.
When the momentum slows down, the late entrants are left with devalued tokens. This has also caused a fair amount of them to lose finances.
Analysts believe the risks of such speculative trading cycles exacerbating economic instability for retail investors are real, absent intervention.
Ethical Concerns Over Aggressive Marketing Strategies
Other parts of Pump.Fun’s marketing strategies have also come under ethical criticism.
Reports say the platform deliberately poaches vulnerable demographics. They include young and inexperienced individuals interested in finance, as its target audience.
They are promised financial freedom and wealth beyond their wildest dreams. A culture of speculative gambling is reinforced through social media campaigns calling high-risk trading glamorous while making light of possible losses.
Of particular note is that pump.Fun’s social media has come under criticism for adopting a morally distasteful rhetoric.
These include calling out those of lesser means and inadvertently encouraging one to pursue profits at the expense of one’s social circle.
These tactics not only promote exploitative behavior but also blur the line between financial opportunity and outright manipulation.
However, while there has been increasing concern, Pump.Fun and sites like it largely stay up with few safeguards, with regulators caught on the back foot.
Experts argue that the lack of clear regulations allows these schemes to run while raising the chance of participants getting financially hurt.
Market analysts and law experts say stricter enforcement is necessary to ward off further exploitation.
Guidelines Needed
If a sufficiently large number of projects continue amid the absence of such standards, regulatory bodies will perhaps have to intervene to establish guidelines that clearly differentiate legitimate crypto innovation from fraudulent financial practices.
Others have cited transparency measures like mandatory risk disclosures and advertising restrictions for offering retail investors protection from predatory platforms.
Industry experts have warned investors to tread carefully as Pump.Fun’s volumes continue to climb to new highs.
Speculative trading, especially within an unregulated environment, tempts most with quick profits but often while hiding the fundamental, inherent but risky factors.
These concerns are being called on regulators to address before such an investor falls prey to deceptive marketing or financial exploitation.
Source: https://www.thecoinrepublic.com/2025/01/17/pump-fun-regulators-warn-as-trading-volumes-see-sudden-surge/