Pump and dump

How it is used

Often written with hyphens as an adjective: a pump-and-dump scheme or group. Tokens with low liquidity are typical targets, and social media channels are the main tools. It is illegal in securities markets, and in the EU, MiCA bans market manipulation of crypto assets. Compliance teams also watch for coordinated pumps and paid promotion.

Example sentences

1. The token rose 400 percent in an hour and then collapsed; it looks like a classic pump and dump.

2. The exchange delisted the coin after finding evidence of a pump-and-dump scheme.

Common collocations

• pump-and-dump scheme
• pump-and-dump group
• coordinated pump
• classic pump and dump

Related terms

• rug pullA scam in which the creators of a crypto project suddenly take investors' money and disappear, for example by removing all the liquidity from a token's trading pool.
• liquidityHow easily an asset can be bought or sold quickly without moving its price much. In DeFi, it also means the funds that users deposit into pools so that others can trade.
• altcoinAny cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin. The word comes from 'alternative coin' and covers thousands of very different projects.
• MiCAShort for Markets in Crypto-Assets, the EU regulation that sets common rules for issuing crypto assets and stablecoins and for crypto service providers, including their licensing.
• volatilityHow much and how quickly a price moves up and down. Crypto prices are known for high volatility, with moves of 10 percent or more in a single day.

More terms: Regulation, Security & Risk

• KYC
• AML
• phishing
• 51% attack
• crypto asset
• exploit
• travel rule