Wintermute, one of the most prominent market makers in the crypto industry, may be among the entities supporting the upcoming open-market debut of PUMP, the memecoin launched via Solana-based platform Pump.fun.
On-chain data shared by blockchain investigator @ai_9684tpa reveals that a test transaction of 10 PUMP tokens was sent to a wallet linked to Wintermute, suggesting the firm could be preparing to provide liquidity or engage in broader market-making activity. Additional token transfers to known market maker wallets are expected in the coming days.
According to @ai_9684tpa’s analysis, the 48-hour countdown following the public sale is set to begin at 10 p.m. tonight, with the token generation event (TGE) anticipated to occur sometime between 10 p.m. tonight and 10 p.m. tomorrow.
The PUMP token has already generated significant buzz, raising $500 million in just 12 minutes during its public sale on July 12. The offering, which took place on major exchanges, sold 125 billion tokens at a fixed price of $0.004 each, valuing the project at a fully diluted valuation (FDV) of $4 billion.
All purchased PUMP tokens remain locked and are expected to be distributed and unlocked between July 14 and 15, aligning with the 48- to 72-hour window following the public sale.
Despite the record-breaking raise, the launch comes at a time of declining activity on Pump.fun’s original launchpad. Data from DeFiLlama shows the platform’s monthly trading volume has dropped significantly—from a peak of $11.6 billion in January to $3.66 billion in June. Launchpad-generated revenue has mirrored this decline, falling from $133 million to $34 million over the same period.
While some in the crypto community view PUMP as a bold revival of the ICO and memecoin era, others see echoes of past boom-and-bust cycles, citing the delayed token unlock and rapid sellout as indicators of engineered scarcity.
Critics argue that the 48–72 hour freeze on token transfers—paired with restricted public access and sizable insider allocations—tilts the playing field in favor of automated trading firms and early stakeholders. To them, the launch resembles a carefully orchestrated liquidity event disguised as a grassroots memecoin movement.
