Pump.fun is facing intensified legal action after an amended class-action complaint filed in the Southern District of New York alleged it functioned like an unlicensed casino, extracting over $5.5 billion from users through deceptive digital asset schemes.
The lawsuit, filed on Wednesday, names Pump.fun’s operators, including pseudonymous developer Bernie, parent company Baton Corp., as well as key infrastructure partners: Solana Labs, the Solana Foundation, Jito Labs, and the Jito Foundation. According to the filing, these parties engaged in a coordinated enterprise akin to a “front-facing slot machine cabinet,” designed to thrive on volatility and hype without offering genuine investor protections.
“The structure mimics a rigged slot machine,”
the complaint claims, alleging that early buyers profit by dumping tokens on later investors in a system devoid of any underlying product, project, or sustainable revenue.
Significantly, the amended filing broadens its legal claims to include violations under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), fraud, aiding and abetting, civil conspiracy, and unjust enrichment. Plaintiffs are seeking rescission of all Pump.fun transactions alongside compensatory damages for what they describe as a “rigged” digital ecosystem.
The suit further implicates Solana-affiliated entities, asserting that Solana Labs and the Solana Foundation facilitated Pump.fun’s activities by providing the blockchain infrastructure that enabled the schemes, while monetizing user transactions through validator fees, block space sales, and the appreciation of SOL tokens.
Additionally, Jito Labs and the Jito Foundation were accused of earning revenues via maximum extractable value (MEV) strategies linked to Pump.fun’s memecoin trading activities.
Originally filed in January, the lawsuit alleged Pump.fun leveraged guerrilla marketing tactics to create artificial urgency around highly volatile tokens, from which it reportedly amassed nearly $500 million in fees before the recent amendment escalated its scope and damage claims.
Recently, Pump.fun made its first acquisition by purchasing Kolscan, a Solana-based wallet tracker that monitors top on-chain traders, providing real-time transaction data, profit-and-loss analytics, and a leaderboard ranking traders’ performance.
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