Pump.fun reportedly dismissed employees shortly before their PUMP token grants were scheduled to vest, leaving at least one former worker without an allocation now valued at seven figures.<\/p>\n
\n Summary<\/span>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Pump.fun reduced its workforce in late March and early April after rapidly expanding its operations, according to an investigation by Sandmark<\/a>.<\/p>\n Documents, emails, and internal recordings reviewed by the publication showed that some employees lost their jobs shortly before their PUMP allocations were due to begin vesting. At least one former employee allegedly forfeited tokens now worth seven figures.<\/p>\n Workers had reportedly signed token grant agreements in June 2025. Under those arrangements, the first 25% of their allocations would vest after one year, followed by additional releases over time.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sandmark obtained a termination email showing that Pump.fun head of talent Lloyd McCarthy called affected employees into a group meeting in late March. During the recorded meeting, co-founder Noah Tweedale said the company had \u201cgrew too quickly,\u201d limiting its ability to operate \u201cfast and rough.\u201d<\/p>\n Contracts were terminated in early April, according to the report. Affected workers received severance payments based on how long they had worked for the company, but their unvested PUMP allocations were reportedly canceled.<\/p>\n Pump.fun has not publicly addressed the findings.<\/p>\n New allegations surfaced after former workers claimed that Baton Corp., the company behind Pump.fun, conducted another round of layoffs in mid-July.<\/p>\n A newly created X account named \u201cex pump employee\u201d alleged that Baton dismissed about 40 employees one day before their PUMP grants were scheduled to vest. The account owner claimed to have worked for the company for more than a year.<\/p>\n The account also alleged that Pump.fun never intended to conduct a public PUMP airdrop because the company opposed \u201cgiving free money\u201d to users. Pump.fun has not responded publicly to that claim.<\/p>\n However, Sandmark said it could not independently verify the allegation that 40 workers were dismissed immediately before the July vesting event. The claim therefore remains based on the former employee\u2019s account rather than independently reviewed employment records.<\/p>\n The dispute centers on employee compensation rather than tokens already held by public investors. Still, the allegations could increase scrutiny of how crypto companies structure token grants and whether employment termination clauses allow firms to cancel large allocations shortly before vesting.<\/p>\n The allegations follow Pump.fun\u2019s first major team and investor token distribution after a one-year lockup expired.<\/p>\n As crypto.news previously reported<\/a>, on-chain tracking showed that 57.279 billion PUMP tokens, valued at approximately $86.49 million at the time, moved to 121 wallets on July 15.<\/p>\n Wu Blockchain said the distribution marked the start of a three-year vesting period for team and investor allocations. The transfers made previously restricted tokens available to recipients, although wallet movements alone do not prove that any of the tokens were sold.<\/p>\n For US token holders, the employment allegations do not change their ownership rights. The broader concern is market-related: continued insider distributions could increase transferable supply and create selling pressure if recipients move tokens to exchanges.<\/p>\n PUMP traded around $0.002 at press time, gaining nearly 5% over the previous 24 hours, according to CoinGecko. Despite the daily rise, the token remained roughly 77% below its September 2025 all-time high.<\/p>\n The decline comes as Pump.fun continues to generate large numbers of short-lived meme coins. A June CoinGecko study examined 18.67 million tokens created through the launchpad between January 2024 and June 2026.<\/p>\n\n
Pump.fun layoffs preceded employee token vesting<\/h2>\n
Former workers allege a second round of cuts<\/h2>\n
![\"X](\"https:\/\/media.crypto.news\/2026\/07\/Screenshot-2026-08-01-032331.webp\")
PUMP distribution moved $86.49M to 121 wallets<\/h2>\n
PUMP remains 77% below its record high<\/h2>\n