Meme coin launchpad Pump.fun is launching an investment arm called Pump Fund to move away from its existing meme coin-focused strategy, Cointelegraph reported on Jan. 20 local time.
Pump.fun plans to hold a $3 million hackathon and invest $250,000 each in up to 12 projects.
Through the investment arm, Pump.fun plans to support projects in various fields beyond blockchain and provide long-term collaboration and mentorship. Co-founder Alon Cohen (알론 코헨) said, "Even when the market is highly volatile, demand for innovative founders remains high," adding, "Through this fund, we will support teams that execute quickly."
The 30-day hackathon will let participants create tokens and share project updates, with the market directly evaluating them. Cohen described it as "a new form of funding model where users invest directly in projects without going through VCs or screening."
Chi-gyu Hwang
delight@d-today.co.kr