Chaos surrounds Pump Fun-Kimchi token launch

A joint token launch between well-known crypto trader Kimchi and memecoin site Pump Fun has become chaotic, with users unsure if Kimchi's account was compromised.

Pump Fun and Kimchi — whose real name is Clayton Kim — had been collaborating to advertise the platform's 'Pill Your Friends' campaign.

Alon Cohen, co-founder of Pump Fun, called Kim 'the first ever example of a trader becoming a celebrity.' Pump Fun also sought to lure users into becoming 'the next Kimchi' by using its service.

Related article: Pump Fun and Kraken delete Hunter Biden $LAPTOP promotion

Kimchi's X account posted a rugpull token

The situation deteriorated on Wednesday when Kimchi's X account posted a QR code for a new token.

The Project Kimchi token hit a $14 million market cap, then crashed to about $600,000 in minutes. It now stands at $183,000.

Meanwhile, Cohen reshared the post but quickly removed it. Kimchi's account then started deleting Pump Fun-related posts and removed the platform from his bio.

Also read: Pump Fun paid $700K to callers shilling mostly tiny tokens

Before this incident, several Kimchi-themed tokens existed. The debacle caused numerous users to believe Kimchi had been hacked.

Some believe Kimchi orchestrated the event

Certain users think the post could have been deliberate, with the token's failure at best a case of poor management.

Trader Fabiano noted that Cohen did not issue any hack warnings after removing his reshare.

He further argued that Cohen's reshare likely required minute-by-minute coordination, and that removing Pump Fun references from his bio contradicts the partnership.

Claims of Kimchi's $40M TRUMP profit challenged

During its campaign, Pump Fun repeated an unconfirmed claim that Kimchi earned more than $40 million from TRUMP trades.

But analyst Bubblemaps states that Kimchi's publicly checkable earnings are around $6 million.

Unrevealed addresses might exist, but Bubblemaps comments 'he likely would have revealed it by now.'

Kimchi posts online infrequently, and when he does, it is usually to show off wealth.

As of now, Kimchi's YouTube channel has just one vlog, uploaded two days ago, which promotes Pump Fun from a private jet.