Pump.fun, the Solana-based platform that allows users to quickly launch meme coins, has come under scrutiny following reports that it terminated employees just weeks or months before their company token grants were set to begin unlocking.
An investigation by Sandmark, drawing on internal documents, emails, and recordings, indicates that at least one former worker lost out on a PUMP allocation currently valued in the seven figures, even after the token’s sharp decline from its 2025 peak.
The company expanded rapidly, growing from a handful of staff to nearly 100 earlier this year amid strong revenue generation.
Lifetime earnings for the launchpad have reached approximately $1.3 billion, with daily revenue still hovering near $1 million according to available data.
However, that expansion reportedly proved unsustainable in management’s view.
According to materials reviewed by Sandmark, head of talent Lloyd McCarthy summoned affected employees to a group meeting in late March.
In a recorded session, co-founder Noah Tweedale explained the decision by stating the firm had “grew too quickly,” which hindered its ability to operate in a “fast and rough” manner. Employment agreements for those individuals ended in early April.
Severance packages provided one week of salary for each month of service.
Critically, the timing left many just two months short of the first vesting milestone for their PUMP tokens.
Employees had entered into token grant agreements around mid-June 2025.
Those contracts stipulated that 25 percent of each allocation would unlock after one year, with further portions releasing gradually afterward.
For those dismissed in April, the unvested portions were canceled, resulting in significant potential losses for at least one individual at prevailing market prices.
PUMP has traded near $0.002, roughly 77 to 79 percent below its September 2025 high near $0.0089.
Additional claims have emerged regarding a second wave of reductions.
Former staff members allege that Baton Corporation Ltd., the UK-registered entity behind Pump.fun, conducted further layoffs in mid-July.
An anonymous X account operating under the name “ex pump employee” asserted that around 40 workers were let go one day before another vesting event, with the poster claiming more than a year of tenure.
Sandmark noted it could not independently confirm the exact numbers or July timing from these accounts.
Across both rounds, former employees estimate more than 40 people were affected in total.
Pump.fun’s co-founders, including Noah Tweedale and Alon Cohen, did not respond to requests for comment from media outlets just yet.
The platform has not issued a public statement addressing the reports.
The company operates under Baton Corporation Ltd. and has faced separate regulatory attention in the UK, including overdue company filings and prior warnings from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
These developments have highlighted broader questions in the crypto sector about how token incentive structures interact with employment terminations.
While the platform continues to facilitate high volumes of token creation, the reported sequence of events has drawn attention to the gap between rapid growth, staff reductions, and the timing of equity-like token rewards.