Pump.fun Token Presale: A Carnival for the Few?
The biggest buzz in the Web3 space these past few days has been the token presale of meme launch platform Pump.fun! After much anticipation, the PUMP token presale kicked off on July 12 and sold $500 million worth of tokens in just 12 minutes. It’s a stark reminder: the market isn’t short of money—it’s short of “big projects” that make capital act decisively.
Yet, behind this seemingly lively presale lies a lot of “disappointment.”
CEX Participation: Mixed Fortunes?
According to Pump.fun’s official data, several centralized exchanges (CEXs) that previously announced presale partnerships ended up with 0% of the total presale份额. The remaining CEXs with data—Kraken, Kucoin, and Gate—collectively accounted for only about 10% of total预售份额.
More striking is the participation numbers:
– Kraken, the CEX with the largest share, saw only 2 participants take home $30 million;
– Gate had 15 participants, totaling $5 million;
– Kucoin fared slightly better with 120 participants, totaling nearly $16.5 million.
Combined, these three exchanges had fewer than 140 participants—and the actual number is likely lower if “one person, multiple addresses” are considered. No wonder many users hoping to join via CEXs ended up empty-handed.
Retail Investors on Official Site: Most Spent Only $500?
Did retail investors who participated directly on the official site strike it rich? The data might cool that excitement—
Overseas data platform Blockworks reports 10,000 unique addresses participated in the presale, with a median purchase of ~$540 (the median avoids skewing by whales). In other words, most retail investors actually spent around $500, far less than the “regret over missing out on hundreds of thousands” narrative on social media.
In contrast,大户 dynamics tell a different story: 202 wallets bought over $1 million, and 138 bought over $500,000. Notably, 45% of participating addresses were new wallets created less than 24 hours prior, while wallets older than a year accounted for less than 5%. This seems to confirm community speculation: whales may bypass purchase limits by批量 creating new wallets, leaving long-term retail investors as “exit liquidity.”
In terms of funding sources, besides independent addresses, most funds were withdrawn from Binance (exceeding the total from all other CEXs combined), with Solana DeFi protocols like Raydium and Jupiter also contributing significantly. All told, independent addresses + DEXs accounted for over 60% of funds, with CEXs under 30%—showing that more direct participation channels (fewer intermediaries) boost user engagement, explaining why CEXs are rushing to integrate “on-chain direct presale” features.
Edge Walkers: Cool Thoughts Behind the Hype
What looks like a “decentralized presale” reveals centralization in the data: low-cost creation of new wallets, failed CEX channels, and a few individuals controlling large shares… This presale feels more like an “elite game” than an inclusive community opportunity.
As Bitcoin hits new highs and market FOMO rises, ordinary retail investors often find themselves as “edge walkers” in the data. Behind the hype of chasing the “next 100x coin,” perhaps we should ask: Who’s celebrating, and who’s left disappointed?
This content is AI-generated and does not constitute investment advice. Please exercise your own rational judgment.
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