ChainThink reports, according to an exclusive report by Sandmark, Pump.fun laid off employees approximately two months before the employee token unlock, causing at least one former employee to miss out on a PUMP token allocation worth a seven-figure sum at current prices.
The layoffs occurred in early April, and the affected employees were originally scheduled to begin receiving token vesting in June, two months later. The employees had signed the token agreement in June 2025, with one-quarter of their allocation set to vest one year later.
Co-founder Noah Tweedale stated in an internal meeting recording that the layoffs were due to the company "growing too fast." Former employees also reported a second round of layoffs in mid-July, with over 40 employees laid off in the past two months;
One employee claimed they were laid off the day before the token unlock, but Sandmark could not independently verify this.
Pump.fun operates in the UK under the name Baton Corporation Ltd, has blocked UK users since December 2024, and remains on regulatory warning lists;
In 2024, the company experienced an incident in which an employee embezzled and transferred approximately $2 million in funds; the individual involved has been sentenced to six years in prison.