Pump.fun cut staff before first PUMP token unlock, report says

Pump.fun, a Solana memecoin launchpad, is facing allegations that it dismissed more than 40 employees in two waves timed to prevent their first PUMP token grants from vesting, according to a Sandmark investigation and material reviewed by the outlet. Employees signed grant agreements in mid-June 2025 under which 25% of their allocations would vest after one year of employment, with the rest unlocking gradually afterward. Former staff say contracts were terminated in early April and again in mid-July 2026, severance was set at one week for every month worked, and unvested tokens were canceled. One former worker reportedly lost a seven-figure payout. The claims emerged weeks after Pump.fun founders and early investors reached their own one-year cliff. On July 12, 82.5 billion PUMP moved into insider wallets after the initial lockup expired, with 50 billion allocated to the core team and 32.5 billion to existing investors. At late-July prices, that stake was worth about $102 million. Wu Blockchain said the release opened a three-year vesting schedule that will continue unlocking tokens into 2029. Wallet movements alone do not show whether any tokens were sold. Pump.fun has not publicly responded to the allegations, and co-founders Noah Tweedale and Alon Cohen did not answer Sandmark's inquiries. Sandmark said it could not independently verify all details, including the exact number of affected employees, though an anonymous X account claiming to represent former staff has posted termination emails since late July. The company had earlier grown to roughly 100 employees and appears to frame the cuts as a pullback after rapid hiring during the 2024 and early 2025 meme coin boom. The controversy has intensified scrutiny of Pump.fun's token economics and governance. In April, the company burned roughly $370 million of repurchased PUMP, or about 36% of circulating supply, and reduced its buyback program to 50% of revenue from 100%. DefiLlama data shows Pump.fun generated $19.1 million in revenue in the 30 days ending July 22 and crossed $1 billion in lifetime revenue earlier in 2026. PUMP rose about 6% in the 24 hours after the report, but the token remains about 75% below its 2025 peak. Baton Corporation Ltd, the UK entity behind Pump.fun, was warned by the Financial Conduct Authority in December 2024 that it may be offering financial services without permission, and Tweedale and Cohen are also named in a securities class action filed in the Southern District of New York in January 2025.