Pump.fun Cuts 40+ Staff Before PUMP Vesting as Token Sits 76% Below ATH

Pump.fun, the Solana-based memecoin launchpad behind the PUMP token, has reportedly cut more than 40 employees over the past two months, with several staff let go just before their token allocations were due to vest. PUMP itself is trading roughly 76% below its all-time high reached last September, adding financial insult for workers who say they were counting on those unlocked tokens.

The layoffs were detailed by crypto outlet Sandmark, which said it obtained internal recordings and files documenting the firings. According to that reporting, Pump.fun had scaled its headcount to 100 employees earlier this year before reversing course with a wave of terminations that began in April.

Timing of the firings under scrutiny

Many of the affected staff reportedly signed token agreements in mid-June 2025 under which a quarter of their PUMP allocation would unlock roughly two months later. An X account claiming to represent laid-off Pump.fun employees alleged that some workers were dismissed just one day before their vesting date, describing the treatment as being handled “like cattle.” The account has since restricted its posts and deleted at least one message.

In a March internal meeting, co-founder Noah Tweedale reportedly told staff that layoffs were necessary because the company had “grown too quickly” and could no longer operate “fast and rough.” That recording, according to Sandmark, predates the subsequent round of terminations by roughly a month.

UK filings a month overdue

Separately, Companies House records show that Baton Corporation, the UK-registered parent entity of Pump.fun, has yet to file business accounts due for the period ending 30 September 2025 — now roughly a month overdue. Under UK rules, penalties escalate with the delay: £375 ($505) for filings more than one month late, £750 ($1,010) past three months, and £1,500 ($2,020) if the lapse stretches beyond six months.

Those fines are negligible next to Pump.fun’s reported cumulative revenue, which has surpassed $1 billion since launch. But the overdue paperwork, paired with the staff cuts, has added to scrutiny of a platform that built its reputation on rapid memecoin issuance during the 2024–2025 speculative boom.

PUMP price and a stalled airdrop

The token turbulence compounds the human cost of the layoffs. PUMP has fallen nearly 76% from its all-time high set last September, eroding the value of any allocations that did vest for departing staff. It has now been 365 days since Pump.fun first signaled that a broader token airdrop for users was “coming soon,” a promise that has yet to materialize.

Pump.fun’s staff reductions add it to a growing list of crypto firms trimming headcount in 2026 amid a broader bear-market squeeze and a shift of engineering resources toward AI. For holders and prospective employees alike, the episode underscores how token-based compensation can evaporate in value — or vanish entirely — if vesting schedules and layoff timing don’t align.

Read more: Luno Cuts 20% of Global Staff, Its Second Cull Since 35% Layoff in 2023

Sources

• beincrypto.com
• protos.com