Memecoin Generator Pump.fun Hit with Another Proposed Class Action Lawsuit

The suit, filed in the Southern District of New York (SDNY), hinges on the crypto industry's biggest lingering question — when is a token a security?

Memecoin generator Pump.fun is facing another proposed class action lawsuit, this time over three memecoins generated on its platform.

The suit, filed Thursday in the Southern District of New York (SDNY), was filed by a lead plaintiff who claims to have lost money trading three Pump.fun-created memecoins in particular — FWOG, FRED and GRIFFAIN. The suit alleges that every token created using Pump.fun's platform is a security, and thus subject to U.S. securities laws. However, that's a matter of ongoing debate, with the Biden Administration showing signs of taking a softer approach to crypto regulation than the Trump Administration.

The suit claims that Baton Corporation, a U.K.-registered company that operates Pump.fun, is a “joint issuer” of all tokens launched on its platform, even though the company itself does not create any of the tokens covered in the suit. The filing also names three of the Baton Corporation co-founders — COO Alon Cohen, CTO Dylan Kerler and CEO Noah Tweedale.

Cohen declined to comment, telling CoinDesk that he was speaking for himself and not the company. The other members of the team could not be reached by press time.

The law firm that filed the suit, New York-based Wolf Popper LLP, filed another class action suit against Pump.fun just two weeks ago. That suit has a different lead plaintiff but similarly accuses Baton Corporation and its three co-founders of selling an unregistered security — the PNUT token, a Solana-based memecoin inspired by Peanut the Squirrel. According to the suit, the PNUT token at one point had a market capitalization of over $1 billion. At the time of publication, the token is down 89% from its high of $2.25 last November.

Wolf Popper LLP, along with crypto litigation-focused firm Burwick Law, is also behind the recent class action lawsuit filed against the promoters of the HAWK token, a memecoin tied to influencer Hailey Welch, a.k.a. Hawk Tuah.

Pump.fun, which launched a year ago, has faced scrutiny from regulators for its platform, which allows users to create their own tokens in a matter of minutes. In March 2023, the U.K. financial regulator issued a warning against the platform, leading Pump.fun to ban U.K.-based users. The platform also came under fire for its livestream feature, which some users employed to promote their tokens with violent or sexual content. The feature has since been disabled.

The suit is seeking damages and attorneys’ fees.

Danny Nelson contributed reporting.