This year, there are two killer applications in the crypto circle, one has already been targeted by the FBI, and the other is on the way to being targeted.

Written by: shushu

In May this year, Pump.fun first introduced the live broadcast feature but did not achieve the expected popularity. In November, the official promoted the feature again and successfully sparked a wave of 'live streaming with memes'. However, within a week, Pump's live stream began to spiral out of control. Due to the platform's inadequate content review, broadcasters resorted to various extreme behaviors to attract attention, even posing direct personal threats to others, putting this killer application of the Solana ecosystem into legal and regulatory risks.

From 'Crypto Circle Fast Hand' to 'Crypto Circle Dark Web'

If the token market value does not reach 1 million, he will shoot his dog.

If the token market value does not reach 1 million, he will hang himself.

A young couple beats their 3-year-old child every 4 minutes until the token market value reaches a certain target.

A 12-year-old child claimed he would use a shotgun to kill his whole family if the token market value did not reach the target.

Naked live broadcasts, human-animal battles, locking oneself in a cage as a dog, and even extreme content such as child abuse, pet abuse, and imitating Nazis have frequently appeared. Recently, there has been a wave of vulgar live broadcasts and token issuance on Pump.Fun, attracting attention and discussion in the industry. Some in the community jokingly refer to 'this year's two Killer Apps, one has already been targeted by the FBI, the other is soon to be targeted by the FBI.'

A community user also commented, 'I am not a legal expert on Section 230, but I have worked on T&S for social media platforms. This is exactly what happened to the CEOs of Facebook, Twitch, TikTok, etc., being dragged before Congress and fined hundreds of millions of dollars.'

Section 230 is Section 230 of the United States (Communications Decency Act, CDA), a law passed in 1996 that allows internet operators (regardless of size) to adjust user speech and content as they see fit, considered one of the important laws for internet content management and platform responsibility, and a cornerstone for shaping the modern internet.

Although there are no fully corresponding legal provisions in the country, regulations such as the (Cybersecurity Law) impose stricter requirements on content review by internet platforms. For example, domestic platforms must take the initiative to assume review responsibilities when discovering illegal or vulgar content, or they may face high fines or service suspension penalties.

Pump.Fun, as the fastest growing and most recognized PMF crypto platform in this cycle, is currently facing the same issues as traditional internet platforms: whether to pursue traffic or maintain bottom lines.

Started with a continuous live broadcast that is still ongoing

Pump.Fun launched its live broadcast function at the end of May this year, but it had only been a product function within a small circle and did not trigger a breakout effect.

Until last week, Pump.fun officials once again boosted the live broadcast function. In the early hours of November 22, a North American unemployed youth stated in a Pump.fun live broadcast that he would not stop broadcasting until the market value of his token (LIVE) reached 100 million. This broadcast also became a featured selection by Pump officials and was placed on the homepage. After filling the internal market with 100,000 USD, the LIVE token skyrocketed, and later KOLs like gmony participated in real-time interaction online, ultimately pushing the market value of the LIVE token above 20 million USD.

Currently, this brother has been live streaming for 89 hours straight. Meanwhile, the price of LIVE has fluctuated with this person's various actions in the live room. For instance, when he went to the bathroom, LIVE plummeted, and the audience thought he was about to stop broadcasting; at the same time, he also interacted with many KOLs on Twitter, opening Spaces, with many giving him suggestions and teaching him how to create content.

Gradually, more and more similar live broadcast imitators have appeared on Pump.Fun. As mentioned earlier, if the market value does not reach a certain amount, there will be consequences. To gain more attention, they fill the internal market and launch successfully; the themes of meme coins and live broadcast content must be as eye-catching as possible.

LIVE brother burns a pool, shaves hair, and does various antics during the live broadcast. Initially, when it was unknown that he would sleep during the live broadcast, the community discussed how if this person died suddenly while live streaming, LIVE would become legendary.

When the medium of live broadcast, which can maximize the display of all emotions, combines with a platform for issuing assets without any review, it leads to so many absurd scenes, making it very suitable as material for (Black Mirror) stories.

Continuous live streaming (although he did sleep in between, so it cannot be considered absolutely continuous) for over 80 hours, but the market value returned to 4M, and LIVE continued to drop sharply. The community began to ponder how this brother should conclude.

FBI! Open the door!

As more and more people begin to call for Pump.Fun to shut down the live broadcast function, Pump.Fun's revenue hits a record high.

Thus, the existence of those vulgar live broadcast contents finds justification—it's profitable.

Pump.Fun comment section has people attracting traffic to do external business. In response, a person in charge of a certain ecosystem stated, 'True mass adoption has occurred, and most of the adoption in this industry starts from the gray area... VC Bros, no matter what you want to promote, first align with human nature.'

So-called conforming to human nature is merely some vulgar, sensational live broadcast gimmicks, and even more so, gray industries such as sexual transactions and violent crimes, yet are regarded as the future of an industry. Will this industry still have a future?

Rhythm once stated in the article (Pump.fun is becoming 'Crypto Circle Fast Hand') that the attention economy of Pump.Fun would produce a 'live broadcast god plate', but at the same time, attention must be paid to regulatory issues. How the platform reviews extreme content, and when issuers publish some pornographic or more extreme inappropriate behaviors, should Pump.fun intervene to prevent possible criminal behavior.

Unfortunately, Pump.Fun has not taken action in this regard.

If Pump.Fun continues to allow such chaos, it will not only damage its own reputation but also have a negative impact on the entire crypto industry.

The platform's control cannot dissipate due to decentralization, and the attention economy is not an excuse to break the bottom line. Pump.Fun's transition from one-click token issuance to 'live streaming with memes' was originally a model of commercialization innovation in crypto products, but now that the door to vulgar live streaming has been opened, those supporters who have trampled values underfoot will ultimately become the abyss that swallows Pump.Fun.