Pump.fun Team Sells 543 Million PUMP at a Loss Amid Protocol Pressure

The team behind Pump.fun, the Solana-based memecoin launchpad, has reportedly offloaded 543 million PUMP tokens at a significant loss, according to on-chain data. A wallet associated with the protocol, starting with “77DsB,” executed the sale for 1.207 million USDC despite receiving the tokens from the project’s custody wallet when they were worth approximately $25.39 million seven months ago. This move comes as the platform grapples with a steep 75% decline in the value of its native $PUMP token from its September 2025 peak and mounting legal challenges.

On one hand, the @Pumpfun team is buying $PUMP. On the other, they’re selling it too.
Wallet “77DsB” received 3.75B $PUMP ($25.39M) from https://t.co/QrSDBxAJzF: Token Custodian Wallet 7 months ago. Then, 2 hours ago, it sold 543.23M $PUMP for 1.207M $USDC.
The wallet still… pic.twitter.com/NQHOKyhn34
— Onchain Lens (@OnchainLens) February 17, 2026

Whale capitulation threatens PUMP recovery

The recent sell-off by the team adds to a growing trend of “whale capitulation” that market analysts suggest could derail any short-term recovery for the token. While the “77DsB” wallet still retains 3.2 billion PUMP tokens, the decision to exit a portion of the position at such a substantial loss highlights the internal pressure facing the protocol.

The platform’s aggressive token buyback program, which previously used 100% of protocol revenue to support the price, appears to be losing its effectiveness. Analysts recently noted that “revenue doesn’t fix broken incentives,” pointing out that despite Pump.fun generating over $800 million in cumulative revenue, the native token continues to struggle.

Legal and structural hurdles for 2026

The protocol is currently navigating a $500 million class-action lawsuit that accuses its founders of operating an insider-driven system. Whistleblower evidence, including 5,000 internal messages, suggests the platform may have favoured privileged participants at the expense of retail users. This legal scrutiny, combined with reports that 98.6% of tokens launched on the platform fail to gain traction, has severely damaged investor confidence.

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