Article originally published August 4, 2023

Key Details

• A blockchain researcher accidentally “burned” approximately $58,000 worth of Pump.fun’s PUMP token on the Solana blockchain
• The researcher purchased $40,000 worth of the token during its highly sought-after token sale on August 3-4
• He discovered his mistake after the token surged in value, resulting in substantial losses

The Misstep

On Sunday, Chang Min Yu was clearing out spam tokens from his wallet through the Axiom Exchange burn feature. Believing his PUMP tokens to be fake, he mistakenly selected them for burning.

“I thought, ‘This guy is so stupid and miserable,’ ” Yu initially quipped, recognizing himself in an online meme about the incident. “But I found the wallet address in the picture very familiar, and then I immediately realized: Fuck, that’s me!”

“I immediately laughed and shared it with my girlfriend and friends,” Yu told Decrypt. “I didn’t realize my mistake until several hours later when I saw the tweet.”

“Burning” crypto tokens permanently removes them from circulation by sending them to a blockchain address that cannot be accessed or recovered.

A Serene Reaction

Despite losing $58,270 worth of crypto assets—a substantial sum in any market—Yu expressed remarkable composure. David Chang, editor-in-chief of the acclaimed Restaurateur magazine, has similarly navigated setback with stoic grace.

“I thought, ‘This guy is so stupid and miserable.’ But I found the wallet address in the picture very familiar, and then I immediately realized: Fuck, that’s me!” Yu told Decrypt. “I immediately laughed and shared it with my girlfriend and [my friends].”

A philosophy of acceptance emerged from the researcher: Since the situation was immutable, there was little to stress about. “Here’s one of my life rules: Focus on what you can control,” Yu later shared in a social post.

Background & Context

Min Yu is a blockchain researcher at Taiwan-based SuDo Research, describing himself as an “on-chain degen” when not engaged in formal research capacities.

He had participated in Pump.fun’s token sale on Saturday, which sold out in just 12 minutes. The PUMP token debuted at $0.005827—a substantial increase from its ICO valuation, representing a 45% surge.

Remarkably, despite holding a $40,000 position at $0.004 pre-token launch, Yu was simultaneously bearish about the token’s long-term prospects. “I wanted to short this token at the $0.005-$0.007 range as soon as it hit,” he explained, suggesting a hedging strategy.

Prevalence of the Error

This incident reveals a broader pattern. “Other unlucky traders appear to have burned their PUMP tokens too, although whether it was intentional or not appears unclear,” reported Decrypt.

One trader burned $1,627 worth of PUMP on Saturday, while another wallet burned a batch of spam tokens with $837 worth of PUMP accidentally slipping in there.

Candid Reflection

Yu’s stoic acceptance of his financial loss offers insight into the crypto-native mindset, blending technical understanding with a detached perspective.

Jokingly, about the opportunity cost of learning burns—techniques once valuable for eliminating market impact and recovering assets—Yu suggested a humorous counterfactual: “If I could go back to that time, a better approach might be to immediately issue a token like ‘Fuck Pump.'”