Kraken Co‑Founder Promises PUMP Airdrop For Disenfranchised Users: All We Know So Far

Systems are still under pressure as users decry empty hands after the PUMP token sale. Based on this, Kraken co-founder Arjun Sethi announced plans that could help assuage affected users.

Meanwhile, Bybit continues to face backlash after the wildly oversubscribed meme coin sale, with users claiming they were rug-pulled despite showing up on time.

Kraken’s Arjun Sethi Promises PUMP Airdrop After Token‑Sale Glitch

Kraken co-founder Arjun Sethi pledged to provide an automatic airdrop of PUMP tokens to users who could not finalize their purchases during the recent Pump.fun public token offering, due to Kraken’s system limitations.

“We reviewed internal order logs and client activity to identify those affected. To make this right, Kraken will airdrop PUMP to impacted users once the token is live,” wrote Sethi.

Further, the Kraken Exchange executive articulated that eligibility would prioritize verified order intent during the sale window. This means users do not need to take any action as the distribution will be automatic and free of charge.

In hindsight, the launch generated intense demand, with Kraken sales fully allocated in less than a minute. Meanwhile, as BeInCrypto reported, Pump.fun raised $500 million as tokens sold out in a record 12 minutes.

According to Sethi, despite users’ timely attempts, Kraken’s system could not keep up with the reaction speed required to submit orders.

The move appears to be aimed at rebuilding confidence among Kraken’s user base. It could also help reinforce its commitment to fairness and platform resilience.

“Events like this highlight how important access, speed, and reliability are. We are continuing to invest in all three,” Sethi emphasized.

By taking responsibility for the system constraints, Kraken is distancing itself from its competitors. Its market peer, Bybit, is still under fire for token mismanagement and flawed communication.

Meanwhile, community members received the promise of “no action required” and an automated refund airdrop favorably.

This comment from Mert Helius, a popular user on X and CEO of Web3 infrastructure platform Helius Labs, reflects cautious approval of Kraken’s proactive gesture, without discrediting user complaints entirely.

Notwithstanding, some users have voiced lingering concerns.

“Can you clarify this a bit? The sale appeared to be open for 15 minutes or so. If you tried to buy through the app, it just said ‘this token has low liquidity / add to favorites.’ Which clients are eligible exactly,” one user posed.

Kraken has not yet clarified whether only “on-screen” order attempts were counted. If so, it could exclude users who encountered ambiguous UI errors.