Latest news with #Pump.fun
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Popular crypto site Pump.fun raised $600 million in 12 minutes—a sign a notorious era is back
Eye-watering crypto raises are back. On Saturday, a popular website that lets anyone launch and buy memecoins, raised $600 million in 12 minutes through a public sale of its cryptocurrency. And it drummed up $720 million through private sales of the company's tokens, according to a spokesperson. In total, is sitting on a stash of about $1.3 billion. That's big money, and arguably the largest crypto fundraise of 2025. But how raised money was also extraordinary. Any small-time trader—though not those in the U.S., U.K, and countries like Iran—could get in on the action through the public sale after verifying their identity. That's a far cry from the last five years of crypto, when a harsher regulatory climate restricted the first-time sale of tokens almost exclusively to wealthy investors. token offering is a novel development in the current crypto environment. But it was also a throwback to a more free-wheeling era nearly ten years ago when everyone and their mother (quite literally) were launching their own cryptocurrencies to the public to raise millions. Those offerings, known as initial coin offerings or ICOs, gave rise to some of the most famous projects in crypto—but also a torrent of fly-by-night offerings and outright scams. Does the sale mean ICOs are back? IPOs, ICOs, and securities For traditional startups, there's a well-trodden path to the public markets. Raise money from private investors, grow your business, and, if you're lucky, file for an IPO, or initial public offering. This is usually a yearslong process, involves high-priced investment bankers, and requires scrutiny from financial regulators. Initial coin offerings, by contrast, offer a shortcut that involves minting millions of tokens and then distributing them to those who contribute capital to the effort. That's what crypto companies—both legitimate and illegitimate—did in the 2010s. In 2014, the founders of the blockchain Ethereum raised over $18 million after they let the public buy up its cryptocurrency, which has since become the second most valuable token, only below Bitcoin. Soon, others were raking in millions, even billions, for blockchain companies through token launches. Those included boondoggles like Shopin, a blockchain shopping scheme that somehow raised over $42 million in an ICO, and whose tokens are today worth basically nothing. Unsurprisingly, the Securities and Exchange Commission began cracking down, alleging that many tokens were akin to securities, or financial assets like stocks or bonds that must adhere to decades-old disclosure and registration requirements. The agency soon forced companies to return billions raised through ICOs. In addition to Shopin, it targeted the popular messaging app Telegram. After Telegram founder Pavel Durov drummed up $1.7 billion in an offering in 2018, the SEC sued Durov's company to force it to return the cash to investors. As financial regulators cracked down, companies looked for other ways to legally launch cryptocurrencies, which they claimed were more akin to commodities, or financial assets like gold or oil. They engaged in free 'airdrops' to loyal users or sold them to wealthy investors who agreed to lengthy lock-up periods before reselling them. But, now, the legal winds have shifted again. Under former President Joe Biden, the SEC regulated crypto with a heavy hand, suing even the most prominent companies like Coinbase and Binance for alleged securities violations. Under President Donald Trump, the federal government has pulled back. 'The fear of getting smacked down by law enforcement or the regulators, at least right now, isn't there in the market,' Scott Armstrong, a white-collar defense attorney at McGovern Weems and former Justice Department prosecutor, told Fortune. Déjà vu Over the past year, crypto outfits have launched portals where qualified investors, not just well-known VCs, can access early funding rounds for startups. And Cobie, a longtime, pseudonymous crypto investor, is even developing what he's dubbed an ICO platform. In July, the crypto startup Plasma said it planned to raise $50 million through Cobie's project. Add in mammoth raise, and it seems like it's déjà vu all over again. 'We absolutely believe this sets the stage for a new era of ICOs,' Alon Cohen, cofounder of said in a statement. While Cohen said he believes ICOs are one of the best ways to decentralize a crypto project, others are more cautious. 'There's the real prospect that history repeats itself, and there will be similar fraudulent and problematic offerings this time around,' Armstrong told Fortune. Scams were rampant in the ICO era. Founders would release a jargon-filled academic paper, promise revolutionary technology, raise millions, and never deliver. But crypto industry adherents say this time is different. is a real project and has generated nearly $800 million in revenue since early 2024, according to Blockworks. Plus, public and private investors in the token launch were given the same financial terms, a company spokesperson told Fortune. 'It is a much fairer situation now as compared to that moment in time,' said Omar-Shakeeb Zahir, cofounder of SecondLane, a newer investment bank that caters towards crypto and private markets. Austin Federa, cofounder of the crypto startup DoubleZero, echoed Zahir. 'I don't see today a bunch of projects that are vaporware or have no revenue or have no sort of substance behind them raising crazy numbers,' he told Fortune. In fact, Federa and his startup have creeped back into the U.S. In April, he and his team conducted a limited token offering to select buyers beyond just venture capitalists. He is cautiously optimistic that the return to more public cryptocurrency offerings is a boon for the industry. Still, he was careful not to be too bullish. 'A universal truth of crypto,' he said, 'is that everything good can turn bad, given enough forces.' This story was originally featured on
Business Upturn
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Upturn
Bitget Wallet Offers $6,666 Top Prize in Pump.fun Tokens in Latest Weekly Staking Event
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, July 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Bitget Wallet , the leading non-custodial crypto wallet, has launched the fifth edition of its Fomo Thursdays weekly staking event, featuring PUMP, the native token of meme-token platform This week's event offers a $6,666 top prize in PUMP tokens, as interest in meme-token markets continues to grow. Fomo Thursdays is Bitget Wallet's recurring token distribution event designed to simplify access to early-stage token projects. Participants stake $10 USDT, refundable after the event, to receive randomized token rewards distributed via onchain smart contracts. By removing trading and point-based entry requirements, the program lowers barriers to participation. Bitget Wallet reported that more than 50,000 users joined the previous round within 25 minutes of opening. In response to demand, this week's event has expanded to 200,000 entry slots with a total of 10,001 winners. This edition also reflects increased market activity surrounding a Solana-based platform enabling permissionless meme-token creation. Since early 2024, the platform has facilitated over 1.2 million token launches and recently raised over $500 million through a public token sale completed in 12 minutes, according to market data. The trend underscores growing retail interest in low-cost token issuance within the Solana ecosystem. 'Fomo Thursdays offers a simple, wallet-native way for users to access new token ecosystems,' said Jamie Elkaleh, CMO of Bitget Wallet. 'By featuring PUMP this week, we're reflecting broader market interest in meme-token ecosystems as a growing segment of onchain activity.' The staking window runs from July 16 at 13:00 UTC to July 17 at 13:00 UTC, with PUMP token rewards available via Solana chain and USDT refunds available via BNB Chain from July 17 at 14:00 UTC. For more information, visit the Bitget Wallet official channels . About Bitget Wallet Bitget Wallet is a non-custodial crypto wallet designed to make crypto simple and secure for everyone. With over 80 million users, it brings together a full suite of crypto services, including swaps, market insights, staking, rewards, DApp exploration, and payment solutions. Supporting 130+ blockchains and millions of tokens, Bitget Wallet enables seamless multi-chain trading across hundreds of DEXs and cross-chain bridges. Backed by a $300+ million user protection fund, it ensures the highest level of security for users' assets. Its vision is Crypto for Everyone — to make crypto simpler, safer, and part of everyday life for a billion people. For more information, visit: X | Telegram | Instagram | YouTube | LinkedIn | TikTok | Discord | Facebook For media inquiries, contact [email protected] A photo accompanying this announcement is available at Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with GlobeNewswire. Business Upturn takes no editorial responsibility for the same. Ahmedabad Plane Crash
Barnama
4 days ago
- Business
- Barnama
Bitget Launchpool to List Pump.fun (PUMP) with over 123M in Token Rewards
VICTORIA, Seychelles, July 16 (Bernama) -- Bitget, the leading cryptocurrency exchange, and Web3 company has announced the addition of (PUMP) to Bitget Launchpool. The exclusive Launchpool campaign will see up to 123,594,000 PUMP up for grabs. is a platform designed to allow for the quick creation and trading of memecoins on the Solana blockchain. Bitget will launch a Launchpool campaign offering 123,594,000 PUMP in total rewards. Eligible users can participate by locking either BGB during the event, which runs from 15 July 2025, 08:00 to 18 July 2025, 08:00 (UTC). Users can lock between 5 and 50,000 BGB, with maximum limits determined by their VIP tier, for a chance to earn a share of 123,594,000 PUMP.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Solana News: $500M Pump.fun ICO Sells Out as BTC Hits New ATH
It was another historic week in crypto as Bitcoin ripped to a new all-time high above $123,000 before retracing to $117,000. The rally was catalyzed by a mix of factors including renewed momentum as Washington lawmakers move to push focus on crypto-friendly legislation. Altcoins were not left behind in BTC's pullback. Leading tokens in the Solana ecosystem brought back altcoin summer vibes with sharp gains. Pudgy Penguins (PENGU) was a big mover, doubling in value. The ecosystem followed suit as the combined market cap of Solana-based tokens rose by 13% and broke the $200 billion barrier. The trading volume climbed 100% as trading activities spiked. Source: CoinMarketCap And that's just part of the story. Read more in our weekly recap on Solana. There are no brakes yet for corporate interest in Solana. Solana treasury firm Upexi raised $200 million across two financing rounds to ramp up its SOL acquisition strategy. BIT Mining, a crypto miner on the NYSE, plans to raise up to $300 million with a similar goal: buy Solana in phases. Who is next in the Solana treasury race? SOL responded with a steady climb. It reached a weekly high of $167 before settling at $161, marking a 7% week-on-week rise. Source: CoinMarketCap Meanwhile, Solana's flagship launchpad grabbed headlines. Its ICO sold out in 12 minutes, raising $500 million. The Solana network executed nearly 75% of PUMP's token purchases. Solana's total value locked (TVL) sank to $9.2 billion, down from last week's $10.2 billion. This reduced its market share to 7%, leaving it vulnerable to losing its second position. Source: DeFiLlama Solana's DEX volume mirrored the sentiment in the crypto industry by rising 40% in a week, reaching $3.3 billion. Source: DeFiLlama As the launchpad wars intensify, is beating in weekly revenue and tokens graduated. Pudgy Penguins (PENGU): +92.83% (the token exploded after Coinbase changed its X profile profile picture to a Pudgy Penguins NFT) 1inch Network (1INCH): +80.49% Convex Finance (CVX): +65.65% Mog Coin (MOG): +63.2% Turbo (TURBO): +26.42% WhiteRock and Keep Network, which led in losses last week, posted further declines. Is a reversal in sight? Keep Network (KEEP): -31.36% WhiteRock (WHITE): -19.69% Grass (GRASS): -13% (PUMP): -8.04% (PUMP is down over 50% from its July 12 all-time high) Dog (DOG): -6.7% Source: CoinMarketCap has acquired Kolscan, a tool for mapping wallets tied to KOLs, as a core part of its plan to build a crypto-native social platform at scale. A blockchain researcher accidentally burned $58,000 worth of PUMP tokens on Solana while clearing spam from his wallet—but says he isn't upset by the loss, which stemmed from having mistaken the real tokens for fakes. Tokenized assets on Solana rose 140.6% year-to-date to $418M, outpacing the broader RWA market and placing Solana fourth among blockchains. Double-check your transactions to avoid losing tokens. Follow the markets as Bitcoin reaches a new high. Keep your ear to the ground for acquisitions as they impact token prices. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Economic Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Economic Times
Cryptocurrency Live News & Updates : ICP Rises 4% Ahead of Caffeine Launch
14 Jul 2025 | 02:40:11 AM IST ICP has increased by 4% to approximately $5.48 as anticipation builds for the launch of Caffeine, an AI-driven platform for creating Web3 applications, set for July 15 in San Francisco. In the latest cryptocurrency news, ICP has seen a 4% rise, trading at around $5.48, fueled by excitement for the upcoming launch of Caffeine, an innovative platform that allows users to build decentralized Web3 applications using natural language commands. This event, titled 'Hello, Self-Writing Internet,' is scheduled for July 15 in San Francisco. Meanwhile, the crypto landscape is buzzing with the recent ICO of a Solana-based memecoin launchpad, which sold out in just 12 minutes despite concerns over its revenue drop and the potential risks for investors. Additionally, Peter Schiff has sparked debate by questioning the significance of Bitcoin's 21 million supply cap, suggesting that the perceived scarcity is merely psychological. As Bitcoin continues to reach record highs, discussions around 'hyperbitcoinization' are gaining traction, indicating a shift in ownership from individuals to institutions and governments. This week, investors are advised to keep an eye on notable cryptocurrencies such as Trump Coin, ApeCoin, and Arbitrum, as they navigate through token unlocks and market volatility. Show more
