In the wake of the tumultuous LIBRA memecoin launch and crash, Alon, the pseudonymous creator behind the Solana-based launchpad Pump.fun, has voiced strong criticism and proposed reforms for the cryptocurrency launchpad sector.
The LIBRA project captured headlines after an endorsement from Argentine President Javier Milei on X, sparking a speculative frenzy that saw its price soar to over $4 before plummeting to below 50 cents within hours.
President Milei has, however, clarified that his intention was merely to share information, not to endorse the token for investment.
Allegations of market manipulation have surfaced, with reports of wallets draining over $107 million from liquidity pools.
Pump.fun founder criticizes those involved in the LIBRA debacle
In a long thread on X, Alon expressed his deep disgust over the events, highlighting the unethical behavior of those who profited at the expense of the community.
Alon criticized the involvement of middlemen in what should be a straightforward process of memecoin creation, arguing that such intermediaries open avenues for exploitation.
“Creating a memecoin should be so stupidly simple that anyone can do it,” Alon stated, emphasizing the need to minimize opportunities for manipulation.
Alon went ahead to defend Pump.fun’s mission, which from its inception aimed to standardize and automate token creation to foster a baseline of safety, simplicity, and fairness for all launches.
He pointed out that Pump.fun was built explicitly to address some of the very issues that came to light with the LIBRA debacle.
However, Alon acknowledged that while the platform could simplify the creation process, what happens post-launch remains a challenge.
Call for enhanced user protection
In response to the LIBRA incident, Alon outlined a vision for a safer crypto ecosystem.
He stressed the importance of educating users on ethical token launches, including managing expectations, dealing with market snipers, and understanding when to take profits.
Alon suggested that platforms should focus on improving user onboarding, and making trading accessible while protecting newcomers from being exploited by seasoned traders.
He also advocated for better user protection at the interface level, suggesting that platforms could limit the visibility of tokens with suspicious trading patterns and ensure more reasonable settings for trading parameters like slippage.
Despite the call from some quarters for an end to memecoins due to such incidents, Alon noted that user demand for these assets remains strong.
He argued that rather than trying to eliminate memecoins, the focus should be on making the environment around them safer.
“Let’s make this space great again,” he concluded, calling for collective action to improve the crypto launchpad landscape.
Notably, Alon’s comments come at a time when the LIBRA “rug pull” incident has caused a heated debate with Argentina’s president facing a possible impeachment with a case already filed in court and investigations into the incident underway.
The post Pump.fun founder calls for tougher launchpad guardrails post LIBRA scandal appeared first on Invezz
