Rumors Are Spreading About an Altcoin: Former Employees Speak Out

It has been alleged that Pump.fun, a memecoin platform based in Solana, initiated the process of laying off employees approximately two months before their $PUMP token allocations were to be unlocked. According to a report published by Sandmark, at least one former employee was deprived of token allocations worth over $1 million at current prices.

According to documents and internal meeting records obtained by Sandmark, Pump.fun terminated the contracts of some employees in early April. Pump.fun co-founder Noah Tweedale reportedly stated at a meeting in late March that the company was “growing too fast,” making it difficult for the team to adapt quickly.

The laid-off employees were offered a severance payment equivalent to one week’s salary for each month they worked for the company. However, it was stated that the employees’ main loss stemmed from the allocation of $PUMP tokens.

According to the token allocation agreement signed by employees in June 2025, 25% of the earned tokens were scheduled to be released a year later, in June 2026. It has been reported that at least one employee, who was laid off in April, lost their $PUMP allocation, worth seven figures at current prices, because they left the company before the tokens were unlocked.

Although the $PUMP price has fallen by approximately 79 percent from its peak of $0.0089 recorded in 2025, the value of the allocation in question is stated to be over $1 million.

Former employees have alleged that Pump.fun carried out a second wave of layoffs in mid-July. An X account named “ExPumpEmployee” also shared documents alleged to be layoff emails, claiming the account holder was fired just one day before their tokens were unlocked.

According to former employees, the total number of employees laid off in the last two months has exceeded 40. Pump.fun co-founders Noah Tweedale and Alon Cohen reportedly did not respond to requests for comment on the matter.

Pump.fun experienced rapid growth in late 2024, becoming one of the highest-earning platforms in the cryptocurrency sector. The platform, which allows users to create free memecoins in seconds, has seen over 20.8 million Solana-based tokens created to date.

According to Dune data, Pump.fun’s total revenue has reached approximately $1.3 billion. The company’s workforce is projected to grow from three to around 100 employees by early 2026. The platform’s daily revenue is reportedly still around $1 million.

*This is not investment advice.