Kraken to airdrop PUMP tokens to some users whose orders failed due to ‘system constraints’

Crypto exchange Kraken will airdrop tokens from Pump.fun's public PUMP token sale to some users whose orders failed due to the exchange's system constraints, Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi announced. "The sale was fully allocated in under sixty seconds and demand far exceeded available supply," Sethi said in his announcement. "Our records indicate that some clients arrived on time for the PUMP sale but were unable to complete their orders due to system constraints...We reviewed internal order logs and client activity to identify those affected."Kraken did not immediately disclose how many users were affected, but the exchange's global head of consumer business said on X that the firm is working on a list and will email affected clients "soon." The Block was unable to immediately reach Kraken for further comment. "Eligibility is based on verified order intent during the sale window," Sethi said. "No action is required. The distribution will be automatic and free of charge."The airdrop will require Kraken to purchase tokens on the secondary market; though not all tokens have been distributed, perpetuals marketplace Hyperliquid places the value of PUMP at around $0.0067 at publishing time, a significant premium on the $0.004 public sale price. Memecoin launchpad Pump.fun raised about $450 million onchain on Solana through its ICO token sale, while apparently selling the rest through its exchange partners: Bybit, Kraken, BitGet, MEXC, KuCoin, and Gate. Kraken was not the only exchange partner to run into issues during the sale; Bybit has apologized to its users, some of whom complained that they were unable to purchase tokens despite placing orders just nine or ten seconds after the window opened. "Due to an unexpected API delay the offering was oversubscribed, resulting in a portion of users successfully receiving their allocations, while others [did] not," Bybit said on X. An earlier version of its post said the API delay was "from pump.fun"; the exchange later edited those words out of its statement. An additional update from Bybit is expected soon. Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.© 2025 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.