The native token of memecoin launchpad Pump.fun, PUMP, crashed more than 50% following founder Alon Cohen's announcement that its anticipated airdrop won't occur in the immediate future. During a July 23 livestream with 'ThreadGuy' Jerome, Cohen confirmed the airdrop remains on the roadmap but is not a current priority, triggering massive sell-offs that pushed PUMP below its initial coin offering price of $0.004.
PUMP had reached an all-time high of $0.0068 on July 16 amid platform growth hype but plummeted over 52% within a week. The sell-off intensified when two private-sale wallets dumped approximately 1.25 billion tokens (worth over $1.2 million), exacerbating retail investor panic. By July 24, PUMP traded at $0.003243 – down 11% daily and 40% weekly.
Simultaneously, a class-action lawsuit expanded to target Solana Labs, Solana Foundation, and Jito Labs as co-defendants. Filed by Burwick Law and Wolf Popper in New York, the complaint alleges these entities enabled an unregistered securities scheme violating RICO and anti-money laundering laws. Solana co-founders Anatoly Yakovenko and Raj Gokal, along with Jito executives, are specifically named.
Despite the turmoil, Cohen emphasized commitment to a 'well-executed' future airdrop aligned with long-term ecosystem goals. Notably, investor Jeffrey Huang (Machi Big Brother) continued accumulating PUMP despite facing $5.8 million in unrealized losses, signaling rare confidence.