Whistleblower Exposes Pump.fun MEV Scandal with 5,000 Secret Chats
A US federal judge has allowed the addition of new evidence to a massive class action lawsuit related to Solana-based memecoin platform Pump.fun. This came after a whistleblower resurfaced with nearly 5,000 internal chat messages that plaintiffs say shed new light on alleged insider trading and transaction manipulation.
Update on Pumpdotfun and Solana’s lawsuit: Permission to amend (file a new complaint) GRANTED. “What appeared to be a fair, automated marketplace was, plaintiffs say, structurally designed to provide value to ordinary users while rewarding those with privileged access to Solanas… pic.twitter.com/mctvXdWScM.” — Burwick Law (@BurwickLaw) December 15, 2025
In a December 9, 2025 order filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge Colleen McMahon granted plaintiffs permission to amend and refile their lawsuit against Pump.fun, MEV infrastructure company Jito Labs, Solana Foundation, Solana Labs and related executives.
Retail Losses and Insider Priority Alleged in Pump.fun MEV Lawsuit
The decision paves the way for the trial to proceed with expanded factual allegations focused on maximum extractable value (MEV). This controversial practice allows validators or experienced traders to profit by reordering transactions within a blockchain block.
The lawsuit was filed by Diego Aguilar, Kendall Carnahan and lead plaintiff Michael Okafor on behalf of investors who purchased tokens launched on Pump.fun between March 1, 2024 and July 23, 2025 and later suffered losses. The plaintiffs allege that the defendants operated a coordinated “pumping operation” that secretly gave insiders priority access to newly launched tokens and marketed these launches to the public as fair and resistant to rug pulls.
According to the complaint, Solana Labs’ validation infrastructure allegedly enabled transaction order control, while tools developed by Jito Labs allowed certain participants to pay for priority execution. Pump.fun is accused of acting as a public venue that launched the tokens, charging fees on every trade and promoting a fair launch narrative, even though insiders allegedly knew they had structural advantages.
MEV and Its Growing Legal Burden
The case builds on an earlier lawsuit filed in July that accused Pump.fun of operating an illegal “meme coin casino” that allegedly generated more than $722 million in revenue and caused retailers $4 billion to $5.5 billion in losses. Court documents allege that the platform processes tens of billions of dollars in cumulative trading volume and releases tens of thousands of tokens to the market daily, while the vast majority of user addresses fail to make any significant profits.
At the center of the dispute is MEV, a practice that is becoming increasingly common on major blockchains. MEV is about making profits by influencing the order in which transactions are processed, often through front-running or sandwich attacks. Research cited in recent court filings and industry reports shows that MEV bots are now taking up a significant portion of block space on Solana and Ethereum-based networks, leading to higher fees and inconsistent execution results for regular users.
Legal scrutiny of MEV has intensified following criminal proceedings related to similar tactics. In a closely watched case, two MIT-educated brothers, Anton and James Peraire-Bueno, were charged with wire fraud and money laundering after they allegedly exploited Ethereum’s validation layer to withdraw $25 million in seconds. Although a jury later failed to reach a verdict, resulting in a mistrial, the case marked the first prosecution focused on MEV manipulation and illustrates the difficulties courts face when applying traditional fraud laws to blockchain mechanics.
Read more about the Pump.fun MEV scandal and the growing legal reckoning for MEV at https://cryptonews.com/news/pumpfun-mev-scandal-leaks-lawsuit/
