Revenue Peaks Before Sharp Decline
Pump.fun, a Solana-based memecoin launchpad, saw revenue skyrocket during the week of Nov. 18–24, reaching $33.83 million, up 60% from the week prior. This was a peak in the platform’s month-over-month growth, which has seen revenue increase nearly 400% since early November.
However, that changed drastically when the platform shut down its livestream feature on Nov. 25 after reports of harmful user content. Between Nov. 25 and Dec. 1, Pump.fun raked in only $11.31 million in weekly revenue-a whopping 66% drop. While the suspension of livestreams was an effort to appease community concerns, it greatly affected the course of the platform’s earnings.
Livestream Content Sparks Backlash
The controversy began as Pump.fun’s livestream feature, designed to promote new token launches, was misused by some users to broadcast harmful and alarming content. Reports emerged of individuals making violent threats to gain attention and drive token activity.
On Nov. 25, a Pudgy Penguins’ security manager, Beau, flagged an incident where a user threatened to commit suicide unless their token reached a certain market cap. Other alarming reports included threats of animal cruelty and possible acts of mass violence, shared by concerned users on X.
The crypto community was fast to condemn such inappropriate use of the live stream feature. As more incidents of this nature came to the fore, calls for immediate action started to mount.
Pump.fun’s Swift Action and Future Challenges
Faced with growing criticism, Pump.fun’s team shut off the livestream feature indefinitely. In a public statement, the platform acknowledged “disturbing events” and announced plans to develop stricter moderation tools before reinstating the feature.
Experts weighed in on the situation, and Yuriy Brisov from Digital and Analogue Partners pointed out that there could be several legal consequences, including investigations and civil lawsuits. At the same time, co-founder of Trading Strategy Mikko Ohtamaa thinks that the platform could either be shut down through regulatory intervention immediately or a bit later when authorities understand what happens.
Pump.fun is finally responding-a critical juncture for the platform amidst growing challenges, rebuilding community trust, softening regulatory scrutiny, while addressing revenue consequences of the disabling of the problematic livestream feature.
