Pump.fun Token Plummets 22.65% After $55 Million Transfer to Wintermute

Pump.fun, a memecoin launchpad, recently transferred 13.75 billion PUMP tokens, valued at approximately $55 million, to Wintermute, a prominent crypto market-making firm. This significant transfer was first identified by on-chain analyst ai_9684xtpa. The move, which followed several smaller test transfers, suggests a strategic alignment between the two entities. However, the market reacted negatively to the news, with the PUMP token's price plummeting by over 22% within 24 hours.

The large-scale transfer of tokens to a market maker like Wintermute is a common strategy for projects aiming to provide deep liquidity for upcoming listings on major centralized exchanges. This move is intended to prepare the token for wider trading, although the immediate market reaction was unfavorable. The timing of the transaction, following several small test transfers, indicates that the large transfer was a pre-planned and coordinated event.

Shortly after the transfer was detected, the price of PUMP fell sharply. As of the latest update, it trades at $0.005857, down 22.65% over the past 24 hours. The price has established a new short-term range between the day’s low near $0.0055 and the high of $0.007477, defining the token’s immediate technical boundary. If the token breaks above $0.0075, it may suggest a recovery attempt. However, a fall below $0.0055 could trigger a deeper pullback.

Despite the price decline, Pump.fun’s fundamentals appear strong. The platform boasts an annualized revenue of $324.12 million, with equal fees—pointing to efficient operations. Over the past 30 days, its decentralized exchange (DEX) facilitated $2.492 billion in trading volume. Moreover, the project has raised over $1 billion, highlighting substantial investor backing. Looking at historical trends, the platform experienced a significant volume spike between November 2024 and January 2025. This coincided with increased retail participation and project milestones. Notably, in May 2024, a labeled infrastructure hack briefly shook the market, causing a volume spike. However, the platform recovered quickly, reinforcing its resilience.