Outside Source
President Donald Trump’s surprise memecoin launches sent Pump.fun’s trading volume into overdrive, smashing the $3 billion weekly mark.
News
Tokens from Solana memecoin launchpad Pump.fun recorded an all-time high of $3.3 billion in weekly trading volume, fueled by a torrent of President Donald Trump-themed memecoins.
On Jan. 23 alone, trading soared past $544 million, smashing previous single-day records, Dune Analytics data shows.
Pump.fun’s previous weekly volume record was set in November. Source: Dune Analytics
The chaos kicked off around Jan. 18 when Trump unveiled his own TRUMP memecoin and doubled down with a MELANIA token on the eve of his Jan. 20 inauguration.
Trump’s token launches also triggered an explosion of knockoff tokens rushing to capitalize on the sudden surge in memecoin speculation. Security firm Blockaid reported a spike from 3,300 to 6,800 cryptocurrencies with “Trump” in their name around the launch of Trump’s official token.
Related: Trump memecoins set to be sued — but to what end?
A Cointelegraph study found that at least 61 of these new coins blatantly tried to deceive investors by copying tickers, branding or descriptions to masquerade as official. Trump has only acknowledged TRUMP and MELANIA as legitimate, but traders speculated on the potential launch of follow-up tokens bearing the names of his other family members.
The trend spread over to Solana memecoin launchpad Pump.fun. One “Barron Trump” token briefly roared to a $27 million valuation before collapsing below $4 million.
Unofficial Barron Trump token on Pump.fun surges before tanking. Source: Pump.fun
Previous research has found bot activities fuel Solana’s trading metrics, which memecoin creators frequently use to inflate their token stats to lure investors.
Pump.fun founder observes non-human activities. Source: Alon
Pump.fun’s meteoric rise hasn’t come without controversy. The platform is on the brink of surpassing $500 million in cumulative revenue, which has drawn the attention of Burwick Law.
Related: Pump.fun revenue nears $400M despite memecoin slowdown
The law firm has threatened legal action on behalf of disgruntled Pump.fun investors. According to Burwick Law, memecoin rug pulls and speculative blowups on Pump.fun have caused devastating losses, while the platform rakes in hefty fees.
Pump.fun has also been pushed to shutter its livestream feature, which morphed into a hotbed for freakshows and shock tactics. Memecoin promoters resorted to graphic stunts, ranging from self-harm and animal abuse to racial slurs and pornographic content in efforts to spike token prices and reel in investors.
Magazine: Influencers shilling memecoin scams face severe legal consequences
This article first appeared at Cointelegraph.com News
