The weeks leading up to Pump.fun’s ICO were contentious: accusations that it was extractive, debates over decentralization, and outrage over allocations. 

In the end, the company pulled off the third-largest ICO in crypto history, raising $600 million in 12 minutes.

The day of, Solana barely flinched under the load, and onchain platforms like Hyperliquid and Raydium left CEXes looking outdated.

In this episode of Unchained, Haseeb Qureshi of Dragonfly and Joe McCann of Asymmetric join Laura to break down:

Whether this marks the return of ICOs

The objections to the small ($10 million) airdrop to creators

How Pump.fun’s ambitions could reshape memecoins, and maybe Solana itself

And why TikTok might not need to worry just yet

Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com

Xapo Bank

Ledn

Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner of Dragonfly

Joe McCann, Founder, CEO & CIO of Asymmetric

Previous coverage on the ICO: Pump.fun’s $1 Billion ICO Has Caused Controversy. Can It Succeed?

Unchained:

Pump.fun Becomes Third Largest ICO, Raises $600M in 12 Minutes 

PUMP Traders Make Big Options Bets on the Token Surging Past Its ICO Price

Pump.fun Draws Backlash After Confirming PUMP ICO

SolanaFloor’s tweet on LetsBonk’s stats

The Block: Pump.fun makes first acquisition, purchases Solana-based copy-trading wallet tracker Kolscan

Dune Analytics Twitter thread on the PUMP ICO stats

Timestamps:

🎬 0:00 Intro

🚀 3:43 Why Joe says Pump.fun is one of the best crypto businesses he’s seen

📈 6:04 Whether this heralds the return of ICO mania

😤 7:11 Why the raise triggered backlash from parts of the crypto community

💸 8:32 Whether PUMP’s valuation can really be justified

⚙️ 12:10 How the exchange-first design created issues—and why others may copy it

📊 16:15 Whether PUMP’s distribution model helped or hurt its credibility

⏳ 21:43 Why the decision to have no token lockups sparked debate

👾 24:40 What kind of traders actually bought into the ICO

⚡ 32:56 Whether Solana’s performance makes it the new home for ICOs

🏦 37:50 Why Coinbase sat this one out

🔮 44:07 Where PUMP’s price might be headed in the medium term

📉 48:37 How Pump.fun lost some momentum—and what that says about the space

🧠 55:14 How Pump.fun plans to spend its $600 million war chest

📵 57:21 Whether Pump.fun can really take on Facebook

🔥 1:01:46 Why Joe still believes memecoins are just getting started

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices