Solana Labs, Solana Foundation and Jito Named in Expanded Pump.fun Complaint After Court Ruling
On Dec. 9, 2025, U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon of the Southern District of New York permitted plaintiffs to file a Second Amended Complaint in Aguilar v. Baton Corporation Ltd. et al. (Case No. 1:25-cv-00880), a class-action case centered on the Solana-based meme coin launch platform Pump.fun.
The ruling allows plaintiffs to incorporate newly obtained evidence and expand claims against Pump.fun’s parent company, Baton Corporation, Solana Labs, the Solana Foundation, Jito Labs, and several named executives. The lawsuit was originally filed in January 2025 by investors Diego Aguilar and Kendall Carnahan, later joined by lead plaintiff Michael Okafor.
The complaints allege losses tied to meme coin launches on Pump.fun, which uses an automated bonding-curve mechanism to price newly created tokens. The cases were consolidated in July 2025, and earlier amendments added claims under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). Plaintiffs argue that Pump.fun marketed its launches as fair and accessible while insiders allegedly received priority access to transactions.
According to the filings, validator infrastructure on Solana and transaction-ordering tools associated with Jito allegedly enabled favored participants to buy tokens at the lowest prices before retail users’ transactions were processed. Judge McMahon found that the plaintiffs acted diligently after obtaining new materials in September 2025, including roughly 5,000 internal chat messages from a confidential informant.
The court determined that allowing the amendment would not unduly prejudice defendants, noting that discovery has not yet begun and motions to dismiss remain pending. The Second Amended Complaint is expected to add new factual allegations and additional causes of action, including claims under the Lanham Act and New York state law, while maintaining existing federal securities and RICO counts.
The court rejected the defendants’ argument that procedural deficiencies required outright denial of the motion. Under the court’s order, plaintiffs must file the Second Amended Complaint by Dec. 19, 2025. Defendants’ motions to dismiss will be due by Jan. 23, 2026, with replies scheduled for February 2026, setting the stage for the next phase of the case.
The case has ignited intense chatter across social media, with widespread discussion focusing on the meme coin launchpad and Solana more broadly. “This might be the end for Solana,” the X account Dagnum P.I. wrote on X. “On Dec 9, 2025, a U.S. federal court greenlit a second amended complaint in a bombshell class-action suit against Pump.fun, Solana Labs, and affiliates. The claim? A shady insider scheme leveraging Solana’s validators and Jito tools to front-run meme coin launches,” Dagnum P.I. added.
Many Solana supporters have brushed aside the class-action lawsuit against Pump.fun, Solana Labs, and related parties, framing it as an exaggerated assault on a single memecoin platform rather than evidence of a structural defect in the blockchain itself, while contending that the alleged validator-based and Jito-enabled front-running reflects familiar permissionless crypto dynamics that have appeared in other networks, including Ethereum, without triggering systemic failure or legal disorder.
FAQ ⚖️
- What did the judge decide in the Pump.fun lawsuit?
The judge allowed plaintiffs to file a Second Amended Complaint, adding new allegations and claims. - Who are the defendants in the case?
Defendants include Pump.fun’s parent Baton Corporation, Solana Labs, the Solana Foundation, Jito Labs, and related executives. - Why was the complaint expanded?
Plaintiffs cited newly obtained internal communications and evidence unavailable during earlier filings. - What happens next in the case?
Plaintiffs must file the amended complaint by December 19, 2025, followed by motions to dismiss in January 2026.
