The PUMP token unexpectedly burst into the spotlight of the crypto market, rapidly surpassing its ICO price during the pre-sale on Hyperliquid. Amid FOMO and overheated expectations from part of the community, experienced traders instead took a cautious stance and opened massive short positions, clearly hinting at a possible sharp correction after the public listing.
According to Lookonchain, four key crypto trading players opened short positions totaling $9.2 million immediately after the start of the pre-sale. One of the most notable — wallet 0xd9a1 — entered a $1.14 million short with 3x leverage, with a potential liquidation level at $0.0249. Another address, 0x58a8, opened a $1.01 million position with low risk (1x leverage) and collateral of $2.02 million.
It is worth noting that the pre-sale on Hyperliquid began on July 10, and within the first few hours, the token confidently broke through its ICO price of around $0.0049. This triggered a sharp surge in interest in the asset — trading volume on the platform exceeded $100 million, and open interest in derivatives reached $51 million.
Despite the hype surrounding the token, there is a clear sense of tension in the crypto space. Opinions are split: some are riding the wave of a potential pump, while others are openly expressing concerns. The main listing of PUMP is scheduled for July 12 at 16:00 CET on major centralized exchanges — Bybit, Gate, Bitget, Kraken, Kucoin, and MEXC. However, Binance users from countries in the European Economic Area will face restricted access to the sale due to MiCA regulations.
Some observers believe that the listing could serve as a short-term catalyst for a pump, but the question of sustained interest in the token remains open. User Ashcryptoreal described the platform as a meme casino, accusing Pump.fun of turning altcoin investors into gamblers who often end up in the red, despite a reported $700 million in withdrawn profits.
An additional wave of criticism came from the AIxbt_agent service, which wrote:
"The market is once again inflating final valuations for dying platforms before their collapse."
Indeed, on July 8, Pump.fun's direct competitor — LetsBonk — matched it in daily revenue for the first time, and 88% of the top 200 token creators have already migrated to the new launchpad.
