Pump.fun Faces Backlash Over Livestream Misuse, Calls for Shutdown Grow

Pump.fun, a platform enabling swift creation of meme coins, is under fire for its livestream feature, which has sparked serious controversies. Originally intended to help developers promote their projects, the feature has been misused for extreme content and financial fraud, drawing calls for its removal.

The situation escalated when a livestream featured an individual threatening self-harm if their coin failed to reach a $25 million market cap. Other instances included users threatening harm to pets or people over unmet capitalization goals. In one alarming case, a user livestreamed a self-harm threat tied to their cryptocurrency’s performance, prompting widespread condemnation.

Beau, a safety manager at Pudgy Penguins, criticized the platform: “Shut down the livestream feature. This is out of control.”

Financial scams are another issue. One incident involved a student who created the meme coin $QUANT, pocketed $30,000 in a rug pull, and was later doxxed.

Community members are divided on the solution. Some advocate disabling livestreams entirely, while others suggest stricter moderation. Eddie, a legal intern, criticized the governance, saying, “The content shared on pump livestreams at the moment are not only uninteresting, but conceptually lazy.”

Pump.fun executive Alon defended the platform, citing ongoing moderation efforts but admitted challenges in scaling. Despite controversies, Pump.fun has generated $215 million in revenue since March 2024 and deployed 3.8 million meme coins, according to DefiLlama.

The platform’s future depends on balancing user freedom with stronger safeguards to protect its integrity and community.