Pump fun generates $215M amid livestream misuse backlash

Pump.fun, a meme coin platform, is facing criticism as users exploit its livestream feature for harmful activities and scams, sparking community outrage. 

Initially intended to help developers promote their meme coins, the livestream feature has been misused for extreme content and financial misconduct. 

Beau, a safety project manager at Pudgy Penguins, highlighted a troubling incident where a developer threatened self-harm unless their coin achieved a $25 million market cap. 

"Shut down the livestream feature. This is out of control," urged Beau.

Reports of threats involving pets or human harm to inflate coin values have also emerged. 

Financial scams, including “rug pulls,” have further tarnished the platform. 

In one case, a young creator launched a meme coin named QUANT (CRYPTO:QNT), collected $30,000 from investors, and abandoned the project, leaving participants with worthless tokens. 

The backlash included the doxxing of the creator and their family. 

Community members are calling for stricter moderation or the removal of the livestream feature altogether. 

"Simply sharing nudity or other shocking and even horrific content is not innately interesting. People seek stories and novel concepts that engage them," stated Eddie, a legal intern.

Pump.fun executive Alon defended the platform, citing ongoing moderation efforts and encouraging users to report misconduct. 

“We have a large team of moderators working around the clock… I admit that our moderation isn’t perfect,” Alon stated. 

Despite the controversies, Pump.fun has reported significant revenue, generating $215 million and enabling the creation of over 3.8 million meme coins since March 2024, according to DefiLlama. 

The platform now faces increasing pressure to implement stronger safeguards to ensure user safety and maintain its credibility.