Pump.fun’s PUMP Token Sale Kicks Off July 12 Amid Hype and Heavy Hedging

Pump.fun is set to launch its highly anticipated PUMP token sale on July 12 at 2 p.m. UTC, offering 150 billion tokens (15% of total supply) at $0.004 each across major exchanges including Bybit, Kraken, KuCoin, and Gate.io. The sale will run until July 15 or until sold out.

Token transfers will begin 48–72 hours after the sale ends, with the latest release set for July 18.

Due to regulatory restrictions, users in the U.S. and U.K. are completely barred from participating.

PUMP Trading Already Booming Pre-Launch

Although the token hasn’t officially launched, it’s already active on derivatives platforms. Hyperliquid listed PUMP/USD perpetuals on July 9, where the token surged to $0.0056, a 40% premium over its ICO price.

Volume soared to $346 million daily. Binance Futures also joined the action, listing PUMPUSDT perpetuals on July 10, clocking over $12 billion in volume in less than 48 hours.

Traders can access up to 5x leverage, with funding rates capped at ±2%.

Whales Hedge with Multi-Million Shorts

Not everyone’s betting bullish. On-chain data shows three large wallets opened more than $11 million in short positions on Hyperliquid.

These low-leverage trades appear to hedge allocation risks rather than signal bearish sentiment. One wallet posted $4 million in to short just $1.07 million in PUMP, setting a liquidation price over $0.02.