Pump.fun Just Raised $600M. What Does This Mean for DeFi, Solana & Social Media? - Ep. 868

Unchained

Laura Shin

News, Tech News, Business News

4.5 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 15 July 2025

⏱️ 66 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The weeks leading up to Pump.fun’s ICO were contentious: accusations that it was extractive, debates over decentralization, and outrage over allocations. In the end, the company pulled off the third-largest ICO in crypto history, raising $600 million in 12 minutes. The day of, Solana barely flinched under the load, and onchain platforms like Hyperliquid and Raydium left CEXes looking outdated. In this episode of Unchained, Haseeb Qureshi of Dragonfly and Joe McCann of Asymmetric join Laura to break down: Whether this marks the return of ICOs The objections to the small ($10 million) airdrop to creators How Pump.fun’s ambitions could reshape memecoins, and maybe Solana itself And why TikTok might not need to worry just yet Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com Xapo Bank Ledn Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner of Dragonfly Joe McCann, Founder, CEO & CIO of Asymmetric Previous coverage on the ICO: Pump.fun’s $1 Billion ICO Has Caused Controversy. Can It Succeed? Unchained: Pump.fun Becomes Third Largest ICO, Raises $600M in 12 Minutes PUMP Traders Make Big Options Bets on the Token Surging Past Its ICO Price Pump.fun Draws Backlash After Confirming PUMP ICO SolanaFloor’s tweet on LetsBonk’s stats The Block: Pump.fun makes first acquisition, purchases Solana-based copy-trading wallet tracker Kolscan Dune Analytics Twitter thread on the PUMP ICO stats Timestamps: 🎬 0:00 Intro 🚀 3:43 Why Joe says Pump.fun is one of the best crypto businesses he’s seen 📈 6:04 Whether this heralds the return of ICO mania 😤 7:11 Why the raise triggered backlash from parts of the crypto community 💸 8:32 Whether PUMP’s valuation can really be justified ⚙️ 12:10 How the exchange-first design created issues—and why others may copy it 📊 16:15 Whether PUMP’s distribution model helped or hurt its credibility ⏳ 21:43 Why the decision to have no token lockups sparked debate 👾 24:40 What kind of traders actually bought into the ICO ⚡ 32:56 Whether Solana’s performance makes it the new home for ICOs 🏦 37:50 Why Coinbase sat this one out 🔮 44:07 Where PUMP’s price might be headed in the medium term 📉 48:37 How Pump.fun lost some momentum—and what that says about the space 🧠 55:14 How Pump.fun plans to spend its $600 million war chest 📵 57:21 Whether Pump.fun can really take on Facebook 🔥 1:01:46 Why Joe still believes memecoins are just getting started Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Unchained wants to hear from you.
0:02.0	Help us continue being your no-hype resource for all things crypto by filling out our quick survey.
0:08.0	You could win a free one-year subscription to Bits & Bips Premium coming soon.
0:13.0	Visit UnchainedCripto.com slash survey.
0:16.0	That is, UnchainedCripto.com slash survey.
0:19.0	Or check at the show notes for this episode. What I think of pomp is,
0:22.8	is that they're pursuing financial entertainment. And financial entertainment is fundamentally
0:28.3	very different than what most people are doing on TikTok or on Facebook. I do think it's
0:32.3	much more, it's something that Gen Z is much more tuned into than previous generations.
0:37.2	And so I can see that this thing could become really big. But the idea that is something that Gen Z is much more tuned into than previous generations.
0:39.9	And so I can see that this thing could become really big.
0:47.1	But the idea that it would kill TikTok, not really, but could it become as big or comparable to something like TikTok?
0:48.3	I can see that. Hi, everyone.
0:56.6	Look at Unchained. You're no hype resource for all things crypto.
0:58.2	I'm your host, Laura Shin.
1:00.6	We love featuring quotes from listeners on the show.
1:05.6	Today we have some comments responding to my recent episode with Brandon Millman, CEO and co-founder of Phantom, on my Phantom chose to launch perps on hyperliquid instead of Solana.
1:10.2	On X, Kefa said, fascinating pivot by Phantom and a bold statement on where CryptoUX is heading.
1:15.6	Choosing Hyperliquid over Salana native Dex says a lot about current infrastructure tradeoffs.
1:20.6	And on YouTube, wants to comment 7092 wrote,
1:24.6	Hyperliquid has the liquidity, Ethereum has the institutional credibility,
1:29.1	Solana has the meme coins. To have your comment featured, write a review of the podcast overall,
	...

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