Pump.fun Raises $500M in 12 Minutes as $PUMP Public Sale Sets New Market Record

Pump.fun's $PUMP token launch shattered records on July 12, 2025, raising $500 million in just 12 minutes during its initial coin offering (ICO). The sale completely sold out its 150 billion token allocation—15% of the total 1 trillion supply—underscoring immense demand from both institutional and retail investors.

The public sale attracted 23,959 KYC-verified wallets, with 10,145 participants successfully securing tokens. The average contribution stood at $44,209, signaling a robust appetite for the highly anticipated meme token. Notably, 89.7% of the tokens were sold via Pump.fun's official website, with centralized exchanges (CEXs) like Bitget and Bybit accounting for just 10.3% of total allocations.

Wallet distribution data highlighted the diversity of investors:

• 202 addresses contributed $1 million.

• 138 pledged between $50,000 and $100,000.

• 445 invested between $10,000 and $50,000.

• 1,030 purchased tokens worth between $1,000 and $10,000.

• 5,758 wallets contributed under $1,000, representing the largest group of retail investors.

However, the median purchase amount by address is approximately $500.

Key Features of $PUMP ICO:

1. Speed: $500 million raised in just 12 minutes.

2. Inclusivity: Over 23,000 wallets participated, with a significant presence of retail investors.

3. Platform Preference: The majority of sales occurred via the official website, highlighting its reliability compared to CEXs.

4. Demand: A record-breaking ICO with overwhelming interest from the crypto community.

Challenges Faced by CEXs During $PUMP ICO

Despite the impressive turnout, the ICO also revealed major shortcomings in the infrastructure of participating centralized exchanges. Technical issues on platforms like Bitget, Bybit, and MEXC led to data desynchronization, with some exchanges failing to report real-time sales figures. This caused the progress bar on Pump.fun’s official website to remain stuck at zero, misleading users and triggering confusion about the missing $100 million allocation.

Many users took to social media to express frustration, particularly those unable to complete purchases despite meeting eligibility requirements. Complaints ranged from frozen dashboards to failed transactions, highlighting the inability of major CEXs to handle unexpected demand surges.

Individual users expressed frustration over their experience with CEXs during the public sale. Many felt let down by the inability of these major platforms to anticipate the overwhelming demand for $PUMP tokens. System bottlenecks and technical failures prevented a significant number of users, even those who trusted these exchanges, from securing the tokens they desired.

These issues underscore the challenges CEXs face in accommodating large-scale ICOs. While they offer accessibility to a broad audience, their infrastructure was unable to handle the scale of participation during this record-breaking event.

$PUMP Trading Expected to Open During July 14-15

Excitement is mounting as $PUMP token trading is expected to open today, July 14, or tomorrow, July 15 at the latest. On-chain data reveals that the six CEXs involved in the $PUMP public sale have already received their token allocations, indicating readiness for the opening bell. The current distribution of $PUMP holdings across these exchanges is as follows:

• Kraken: 7.5 billion tokens

• Bitget: 7.5 billion tokens

• Gate: 6.4 billion tokens

• Bybit: 5 billion tokens

• MEXC: 5 billion tokens

• KuCoin: 4.1 billion tokens

Can $PUMP Deliver Beyond the Hype?

While the ICO's success is undeniable, questions remain about $PUMP’s long-term value. The meme token sector has struggled throughout 2025, with declining enthusiasm and stiff competition from viral projects like LetsBONK. Analysts point out that Pump.fun’s future now hinges on its ability to evolve into a compelling crypto-native social platform, rather than relying on speculation alone.

As trading begins, the crypto community will be watching closely: will $PUMP sustain its momentum, or become another flash-in-the-pan token fueled by frenzy and fumbled infrastructure?