The buyback wave is shaking up the crypto market, and Pump.fun, one of the hottest names in recent months, has officially joined the trend.

With a 15% price increase in the past 24 hours and a $18 million transfer to its buyback address, PUMP is drawing growing attention from investors. But does this rally reflect real recovery momentum or just a temporary psychological reaction before a bubble bursts?

Is Pump.fun trying to build real utility for its token?

Following its recently successful ICO, Pump.fun was increasingly scrutinized by the crypto community. Many see the project’s $4 billion valuation as overly inflated. This concern stems from the PUMP token’s lack of utility, governance mechanisms, or revenue-sharing functions within its ecosystem.

However, recent on-chain data showed that Pump.fun has transferred $18 million into a dedicated buyback wallet.

According to EmberCN, the platform has used transaction fee revenues to accumulate and buy back 3.04 billion PUMP tokens. This move immediately sparked a positive market reaction, pushing PUMP’s price up by more than 15%..

At the time of writing, PUMP was trading hands at $0.00656, up 12% over the past 24 hours.

Buybacks are a financial strategy widely used in traditional and crypto markets to reduce circulating supply, thereby creating upward price pressure. For projects like Pump.fun, buybacks also serve as a strong marketing signal, helping to boost short-term investor confidence.

However, there are still doubts surrounding this buyback move of the project.

“Pumpfun sold tokens at $0.004 a few days ago and are now buying back these same tokens with the same money for $0.006. Crypto is not a serious industry,” an X user commented.

Pump.fun isn’t the only project jumping on the buyback bandwagon. Other platforms such as FET, AAVE, IOST, and Polyhedra (ZKJ) have also announced token buyback plans recently, with some committing tens of millions of dollars.

However, sudden price jumps and major capital deployments don’t necessarily equate to strengthened intrinsic value. Price increases driven by buybacks — without solid tech fundamentals or clear benefits for token holders — may lead to artificial rallies vulnerable to sharp corrections if market sentiment shifts.

Moreover, Pump. Fun still operates largely within the meme coin and presale segments, which are known for high speculation and limited transparency.

In conclusion, buybacks may be an effective short-term tool, but the added value could quickly evaporate without a long-term development roadmap and real-world utility.