Curve founder slams Pump.fun as casino of scams, revenue tops $1.2B

Curve Finance founder Michael Egorov called Solana memecoin launchpad Pump.fun a "casino of scams" on Aug. 17, as the platform's cumulative revenue crossed $1.2 billion since early 2024.

"It is a casino of scams called memecoins," Egorov said in a post on X, arguing that most tokens launched on the platform offer little real value to traders. He also criticized the experience of connecting Phantom, Solana's most popular wallet, to a hardware device, calling it far rougher than using MetaMask on Ethereum.

Pump.fun generates roughly $12 million in weekly revenue, making it the third-highest-earning crypto protocol behind Tether and Circle, according to platform data. Revenue flows from token trading fees, graduation fees and PumpSwap. Egorov acknowledged the Solana Foundation's strong ecosystem support but said its flagship applications fall short of the network's underlying strength.

The criticism lands as Pump.fun faces class-action lawsuits and federal racketeering allegations that describe the platform as an "illegal digital casino." Court filings cite internal messages from co-founder Alon Cohen acknowledging that most traders lose money on low-market-cap tokens, while a whistleblower leak of more than 5,000 private chats alleged insider activity and MEV bots extracting liquidity from retail traders.

ClawPump co-founder Tomi204 pushed back in the same thread, arguing that Pump.fun only provides infrastructure and that responsibility for how it is used rests with individual users. He said Phantom remains a workable option for average users despite setup friction for advanced hardware-wallet functions.

The exchange highlights a widening divide between Ethereum-based DeFi builders and Solana's faster-moving memecoin culture. For Solana, the debate now extends beyond network speed and low fees to application quality, user protection and market integrity as the ecosystem expands.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.