Kraken Airdrops PUMP Tokens to Compensate Users After Sale Glitches

Kraken, a leading cryptocurrency exchange, has announced that it will airdrop PUMP tokens to users who encountered issues during the recent public sale hosted by Pump.fun. The exchange acknowledged that technical bottlenecks prevented some participants from completing their orders, despite arriving on time. The sale itself sold out in less than a minute, with demand overwhelming Kraken’s infrastructure.

After reviewing internal activity logs, Kraken identified the affected users and pledged to compensate them directly, with no application or action required from the users. The tokens for the airdrop will be sourced from the secondary market, where PUMP is currently trading around $0.0067, notably higher than its $0.004 presale price.

Kraken is not the only exchange that faced backlash due to technical issues. Bybit also experienced problems, initially citing an API delay that caused oversubscription and failed orders just seconds into the sale. The exchange later revised its statement, initially blaming the glitch on Pump.fun before walking it back.

Pump.fun raised roughly $450 million through its Solana-based ICO, with partner exchanges including Kraken, Bybit, KuCoin, MEXC, Gate, and BitGet. As buyers scrambled to secure allocations post-launch, exchange glitches added fuel to the fire in an already frenzied memecoin market.

Kraken's airdrop initiative is a compensatory measure to address the issues that arose during the public sale, which was marred by technical difficulties and a surge in user traffic that overwhelmed the platform's infrastructure. The airdrop is expected to provide a much-needed boost to the PUMP token's ecosystem, as it will increase the number of holders and potentially drive further interest in the project.

For Kraken, this gesture not only helps to repair its image but also positions the exchange as a leader in the cryptocurrency industry, one that prioritizes user experience and fairness. The decision to airdrop PUMP tokens also reflects a broader trend in the cryptocurrency market, where exchanges and projects are increasingly focusing on community engagement and user satisfaction.