Anonymous Pump.fun co-founder Sapijiju denied claims that the project had liquidated more than $436 million in stablecoins, calling the allegations from blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain “complete misinformation.”
Mr. Sapijciu referred to the report in his X post and claimed that none of the transferred funds were sold. He said the USDC originated from the PUMP token’s initial coin offering (ICO) and was only redistributed to internal wallets as part of the company’s financial management process.
“What is happening is part of Pump’s financial management, where the USDC from the $PUMP ICO is transferred to a separate wallet, allowing the company’s runway to be reinvested into the business,” Sapijciu said. “Pump has never worked directly with the Circle.”
Financial management occurs when you allocate, store, and move funds such as working capital, ICO proceeds, and reserves to ensure the continued execution of your project. A transfer does not necessarily indicate a sale, but may include a reorganization of the wallet or the preparation of a budget for future development.
Cointelegraph reached out to Lookonchain and Pump.fun but did not receive a response in time for publication.
Fund movements raise concerns about selling pressure
Sapijiju’s comments come after Lookonchain reported that wallets linked to the Solana meme coin launch pad have moved $436 million in USDC to cryptocurrency exchange Kraken since mid-October, in what is widely interpreted as a large-scale cash outflow.
The cash movement coincided with monthly revenue at the pump falling below $40 million for the first time since July and dropping to $27.3 million in November, according to DefiLlama data.
Nevertheless, data platforms DefiLlama, Arkham, and Lookonchain showed that Pump.fun tagged wallets still hold over $855 million in stablecoins and over $211 million in Solana (SOL).
Nikolai Sondergaard, research analyst at crypto intelligence platform Nansen, interpreted the decline as a sign of further selling. EmberCN stated that the funds arose from institutional private placements of PUMP tokens, rather than active dumping.
Related: $5 billion disappears in one day, meme coin market sinks to 2025 lows
Community divided between skepticism, advocacy and demands for audit
The community’s reaction to Sapijiju’s explanation was divided. Some argued that this language raised further questions, while others supported Pump.fun’s right to manage its own finances.
Voss, an X user, said there were contradictions in the statements, with the co-founders claiming they were not involved in the transfer, while also saying they controlled the finances. “I didn’t just contradict myself on a post that required a response within 10 hours,” Voss wrote.
Another community member with the handle EthSheepwhale completely denied Sapijiju’s announcement, criticizing what they called “airdrop price manipulation” and improper execution that led to token trades below the public price.
According to CoinGecko data, the PUMP token was trading at $0.002714, down 32% from its ICO price of $0.004. The token has also fallen almost 70% from its September high of $0.0085.
Some community members were more sympathetic, saying the real issue extends beyond the flow of wallets to transparency of reserves.
User Matty.Sol said Pump.fun has the right to distribute the proceeds and ICO proceeds as they choose. “Even if that’s true, there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s your own income,” Matti wrote.
User Oga NFT said that moving USDC is something legitimate projects do after an ICO, and the key question is whether USDC reserves truly back the circulating supply.
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