PUMP Token Tanks Over 50%; Yet One Investor Is Betting Millions More on Its Comeback

24/07/2025 admin

Key Takeaways:

Meme coin PUMP has plunged over 50% from its ICO price as investor confidence wavers.
Crypto whale Machi Big Brother is down more than $5.8M but continues to increase his long position.
Two wallets believed to be private sale investors, dumped 1.25B PUMP tokens, losing over $1.1M in just hours.

Despite its brutal price crash and a delayed airdrop, PUMP is at the center of one of crypto’s most polarizing post-launch dramas. Some high-profile investors are cutting losses, while others are doubling down in what could become one of 2025’s most talked-about token gambles.

PUMP’s Freefall: Post-ICO Hype Gives Way to Reality

Just days after its much-hyped token generation event (TGE), PUMP, the native token of meme coin launchpad Pump.fun—has lost over 50% of its value, sparking heated reactions across the crypto community.

After initially being listed at a price of $0.004 on its pre-sale, PUMP experienced a slight shot up to $0.0067 after its ICO, much of which was driven by anticipation of an elleltal airdrop. What it did it kill the same momentum, though, when Alon Cohen, the project lead of Pump.fun explained that an airdrop will be going out, but not any time soon.

“We want the airdrop to be meaningful and well-executed. It’s not happening immediately,” Alon said in a livestreamed interview this week.

This lack of a clear timeline appears to have doused much of the speculative hype that drove early buying interest. As of today, PUMP is trading below $0.003, putting most public-sale investors deep in the red.

Whale vs. Retail: A Tale of Two Reactions

The price crash hasn’t deterred all participants. Jeffrey Huang, better known in crypto circles as Machi Big Brother, has reportedly doubled down on his long position, even as he’s currently sitting on unrealized losses of over $5.8 million, according to on-chain analytics from Lookonchain.

Machi’s bullish conviction has puzzled many observers, particularly given the token’s apparent lack of immediate catalysts. Still, his continued accumulation could reflect a longer-term thesis on PUMP’s recovery potential or strategic ties to the platform.

In stark contrast, two wallets believed to belong to private sale investors, unloaded a staggering 1.25 billion PUMP tokens in just a two-hour window earlier today. The realization of the sale which was made at an average price of 0.00305, where the money received was $3.81 million, was realized as a loss of $1.19 million.

The split highlights a larger contradiction: although certain insiders seem to be getting out of there fast, other investors are making high- conviction bets on possible turnaround.

What’s Behind the PUMP Decline?

Delayed Airdrop Dims Retail Hype

The speculative fuel that catalyzed the PUMP price rise the most was the expectation of a large airdrop controlled by the activity of the users on Pump.fun. Nonetheless, the remarks made by Alon recently poured cold water in that story, at least in the short term.

The announcement that the team is taking time to design the airdrop carefully may be logical from a project sustainability standpoint, but in a meme-driven market, timing is everything. Without a short-term incentive, casual traders are abandoning ship.

Market-Wide Weakness in Meme Tokens

Beyond PUMP itself, the meme coin sector is cooling. The Q2 2025 frenzy where tokens such as PEPE, FLOKI, and DOGE-inspired derivatives printed triple-digit gains within weeks has given way to a much more risk-averse mood.

Most of the newer meme tokens have not been able to hold on to post-launch momentum, resulting in further volatility and steeper drawdowns. PUMP is now the most recent victim of this broader deterioration compounded by murky project delivery schedules and uneven investor expectations.

Institutional Attention, but Not for PUMP Yet

The wider trend of tokenization in crypto only seems to be picking up steam, as market giants like BNY Mellon and Goldman Sachs join the blockchain-based asset issuance movement. But institutional investors are a long way off from the speculative meme coins like PUMP.

While Pump.fun says it’s constructing infrastructure for the next iteration of meme assets but hasn’t proven traction beyond its initial wave of hype. Until the platform gains deeper partnerships, use cases, or adoption metrics, PUMP may continue to grind within its current narrative cycle.

Community Sentiment: Still Divided

Social sentiment remains polarized. Some on Twitter/X and in crypto Discord channels are calling for patience and faith in the Pump.fun ecosystem, describe the current dip as a “shakeout” before a bounce back. Others are using PUMP as a lesson in blind faith follow of influencer hype without substance.

Machi Big Brother’s public trades are being dissected and debated; some wondering if it is a strategic long game, others seeing a sunk-cost trap. Despite already being down over $5.8 million, Machi’s moves are perhaps on the verge of being vindicated or enshrined as 2025’s greatest meme-coin misstep.

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