Solana & Pump.fun Hit With Explosive $5.5B Meme Coin Gambling Lawsuit—RICO Charges Amplify Crypto’s Wild West Reputation
Solana and viral token platform Pump.fun just got served a legal grenade—an amended RICO lawsuit now pins them to a $5.5 billion meme coin 'gambling' scheme. Forget rug pulls—this is casino-level drama.
High-Stakes Betting or Innovation?
The complaint alleges these platforms turned crypto into a high-velocity slot machine, with meme coins as the chips. Plaintiffs claim the $5.5 billion figure represents 'systemic exploitation'—though let's be real, Wall Street clears that before lunch.
Blockchain or Blackjack?
RICO charges—typically reserved for organized crime—now target DeFi's liquidity pools and token launches. Whether this sticks or backfires could redefine crypto's regulatory playbook. Either way, the house always wins.
Crypto in the crosshairs
Burwick Law has a history of filing multiple lawsuits targeting crypto platforms and token launches.
In January, it filed a separate suit against Pump.fun over the collapse of the PNUT meme coin, alleging it was fraudulently promoted by influencers.
The firm has also brought actions tied to the Hawk Tuah token, as well as $LIBRA—a token promoted by Argentina’s President Javier Milei that allegedly resulted in over $100 million in losses and a U.S. court-ordered freeze of $58 million in USDC.
The complaint further alleges that Solana and Jito were not neutral infrastructure providers but active participants in the enterprise.
Jito is accused of enabling front-running through MEV tooling and validator control, while Solana Labs and the Solana Foundation allegedly monetized user activity through blockspace fees and SOL appreciation.
“Reputation is everything. Whether you're a blockchain juggernaut or a startup running on caffeine and code, all it takes is one lawsuit to shift the public narrative,” said Andrew Rossow, public affairs and reputation management attorney and CEO of AR Media Consulting. “Public trust moves markets.”
Pump.fun has seen rapid growth in recent months, reaching a $2 billion market cap earlier this month following a $600 million token launch. Its simple interface and low barriers to entry have made it a central component of Solana’s on-chain activity.
Asked why the case may matter for infrastructure providers like Solana and Jito, Rossow said platforms often described as neutral may not be insulated from legal exposure.
“I hear it time and again: ‘We’re just the tech provider’ or ‘the engineer.’ But if your rails are facilitating activities in a legal gray zone, expect to be in the spotlight, sometimes unwillingly. Permissionless doesn’t mean beyond reproach,” he said.
