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From Fartcoin to a man who burned himself live for users to buy his meme coin, here are the top five Pump.fun meme coin stories that will truly shock you.
Pump.fun was launched in early 2024 as a platform for creating and launching Solana-based meme coins easily. The platform has almost zero learning curve, as someone can simply register and create their creative meme coin and make it available for trading in no time.
In less than a year, Pump.fun has become the most successful launchpad in the crypto industry. In fact, Pump.fun meme coins currently have a market cap of nearly $9billion, according to CoinGecko data.
However, the platform has seen some shocking challenges. Some users previously abused its live-streaming feature to promote harmful content. Some would even make suicidal claims and threaten the community to purchase their tokens. These challenges have seen Pump.fun being banned in countries like the UK and the platform itself making several regulatory changes.
So, here are the top five Pump.fun meme coin stories that will shock you.
1. Fartcoin – The meme coin that made it into hollywood
The crypto community often demands to be taken seriously by institutional investors, yet meme coins like Fartcoin emerge to highlight the silliness or fun aspects behind digital assets.
Fartcoin is a Solana meme coin, created on 18 October 2024, by an anonymous developer. Its inception was inspired by discussions involving the AI agent Truth Terminal, which identified ‘Fartcoin’ as an ideal meme coin concept.
Fartcoin’s humorous branding and organic community engagement propelled its rapid ascent in the crypto market. The AI agent Truth Terminal received 20 million Fartcoin tokens (2% of the total supply) from an anonymous user, initially valued at $40,000.
As Fartcoin’s value surged, these holdings exceeded $1m, leading to claims of Truth Terminal becoming the first AI crypto millionaire. The coin’s growth was further amplified by social media buzz and mentions from public figures.
On 19 December 2024, comedian Stephen Colbert humorously claimed ownership of Fartcoin after its market capitalization briefly surpassed $1bn. Colbert made fun of the token on the Late Night Show, which worked as a free promotion for the meme coin.
By 2 January 2025, Fartcoin reached a new all-time high with a market cap of $1.45bn, ranking it among the 100 most valuable cryptocurrencies.
2. Gen Z Quant – The kid who did a rug pull
In November 2024, a teenage boy from California, the son of art adviser Adam Biesk, created a cryptocurrency called Gen Z Quant. He released one billion units and purchased 51 million tokens for himself, spending about $350.
During a livestream on Pump.fun, he sold his holdings for approximately $30,000, causing the coin’s value to plummet—a manoeuvre known as a ‘soft rug pull’. Following this, he launched two more tokens, “im sorry” and “my dog lucy,” executing similar rug pulls and bringing his total earnings to over $50,000.
The crypto community reacted with anger, leading to the doxxing of his family’s personal information and the creation of tokens named after his family members. Despite the backlash, the boy continued creating new meme coins, making additional profits.
3. DARE – The dark side of meme coins
In May 2024, Mikol Ayala, a developer of the Solana-based meme coin Truth or Dare (DARE), engaged in a series of livestreamed stunts to promote his meme coin. These acts culminated in a dangerous incident where Ayala doused himself with isopropyl alcohol and had fireworks aimed at him. The stunt went awry, resulting in Ayala suffering third-degree burns over approximately 30% of his body.
Despite his severe injuries, Ayala continued to promote DARE from his hospital bed, expressing a desire to resume his promotional activities once recovered. He stated: “I’m the most spontaneous wildcat in the world. You tell me let’s go, I’m there.”
The incident temporarily boosted DARE’s market capitalization, with a 4,500% increase to $1.82m shortly after the stunt. However, the project’s momentum was short-lived, and Ayala later expressed regret over not capitalizing on the token’s peak value. He mentioned seeing $200,000 in his wallet but refrained from cashing out.
In October 2024, Ayala announced his departure from the DARE project, citing personal growth and a desire to focus on positive endeavors. He stated, “I’m not [the] DARE dev anymore. My name is Mikol and I’m human. I just wanna make it out [of] the trenches like you.”
This episode shows the extreme measures some individuals undertake to promote meme coins and the potential personal and ethical consequences of such actions.
4. Iggy Azalea’s MOTHER Coin
In May 2024, Australian rapper Iggy Azalea launched the Mother Iggy (MOTHER) meme coin on the Solana blockchain, selecting an image of her derriere as its emblem to leverage her pop culture persona. Within two weeks, the coin’s market capitalization soared to $240m, though it later stabilized around $50m.
Azalea’s active promotion of MOTHER on her social media platforms, where she has a substantial following, significantly fueled interest and hype around the project. She engaged with the crypto community through platforms like Twitter Spaces, presenting herself as someone new to building in the crypto space but eager to make a lasting impact.
In June 2024, Azalea announced that MOTHER holders would soon be able to purchase mobile phones and monthly cellphone subscription plans, coinciding with the relaunch of her telecommunications company, Unreal Mobile.
Despite the initial surge, MOTHER’s value experienced significant volatility, reflecting the speculative nature of meme coins. Critics, including Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, expressed concerns about the commercialization of celebrity tokens lacking intrinsic value. Azalea responded to such criticisms, engaging in public debates about the legitimacy and purpose of her cryptocurrency venture.
As of January 2025, MOTHER’s market capitalization is approximately $32m, with a 24-hour trading volume around $4.2m. The token remains available for trading on various exchanges, including decentralized platforms like Raydium and centralized exchanges such as MEXC and HTX.
5. Kekius Maximus – Another Elon Musk Story
In late December 2024, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, changed his display name on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to ‘Kekius Maximus’ and updated his profile picture to an image of Pepe the Frog dressed as a gladiator. This action drew significant attention and speculation from his followers and the broader online community.
The term ‘Kekius’ is derived from ‘kek’, an internet slang term equivalent to ‘lol’, popularized within gaming and meme cultures. ‘Maximus’ references the character Maximus Decimus Meridius from the film ‘Gladiator’. Pepe the Frog is a meme character that has been associated with various internet subcultures.
Following Musk’s profile update, a meme coin named Kekius Maximus (KEKIUS) experienced a dramatic surge in value. The token’s market capitalization soared from approximately $12m to over $380m, representing a price increase from $0.01 to $0.39. This rapid appreciation is attributed to Musk’s influence and the speculative nature of meme coins.
However, the surge was short-lived. When Musk reverted his profile name to the original, KEKIUS’s value plummeted by 99%, dropping its market cap to around $2m. This swift decline exemplifies the volatility and susceptibility of meme coins to external influences, particularly those stemming from high-profile individuals like Musk.
This is yet another reflection on the profound effect that influential figures can have on cryptocurrency markets, especially within the meme coin sector, where valuations are often driven by social media trends and public sentiment rather than fundamental value.
