Pump.fun User Mints 18,000 Meme Coins, Earns $3.76M

A Pump.fun user has apparently been mass-producing meme coins at an astonishing rate, creating nearly 18,000 tokens and amassing at least $3.7 million in profits.

Blockchain data shows that the individual launched an average of 12 coins per hour daily for several months.

The Meme Coin Minting Machine

The user, identified by the wallet 0x818a…aJa13N, showed relentless activity, suggesting they were working off a systematic strategy rather than just sporadic experimentation.

This nonstop activity fueled speculation within the crypto community about whether the process used bots or was controlled manually. However, crypto researcher Conor Grogan, who first flagged the activity, suggested the user could be operating manually, given their account was consistently inactive during certain hours.

While the developer created 17,768 meme tokens in the last few months, only 2,186 are currently active, with the majority abandoned or dormant. Interestingly, despite the huge number of coins launched, they maintained a 55.57% win rate on all trades, with Grogan’s calculations showing they may have made upwards of $3.7 million.

The unknown trader’s plan appears pretty straightforward, relying on quick launches, rapid price pumps, and a strategic exit. Some speculated that the individual—or a possible group—coordinates the buying and selling of the cryptocurrencies to create artificial demand before cashing out.

Others have also noticed a pattern where the trader waits between 30 minutes to an hour after launching a new token before either selling at a profit or altogether abandoning the project. The observation has drawn mixed reactions, with one group likening it to high-frequency trading, while another believes it is a coordinated pump-and-dump scheme.

Making things even tastier, some social media users have suggested that a potential Pump.fun airdrop could see the meme coin maker’s earnings enter the eight-figure territory, which may incentivize them to keep farming the joke currencies.

A History of Controversy

Pump.fun has been at the center of controversy due to the behavior of its users. Last November, it was forced to suspend its livestreaming feature after developers created disturbing videos to make their coins go viral and increase their value. The move led to a 50% drop in token generation, with the platform’s revenue reportedly dropping by more than $22 million.

Furthermore, a growing number of bad actors are using the launchpad to run scams, creating fake cryptocurrencies, and then hacking the social media accounts of famous people or organizations to promote them.

In the latest incident, the X account of Breaking Bad actor Dean Norris was exploited to boost a meme coin named $DEAN created on the platform. Its market cap subsequently rose to an impressive $8.4 million before the scammers exited with the liquidity and caused the asset’s value to plummet to a mere $53,000.