Telegram Pump-and-Dump Network Earned $800K in October 2025: Solidus Labs

TLDR

• A Telegram group generated $800K in profits through pump-and-dump schemes in October 2025.
• The group manipulated new tokens on Solana and BNB Chain with bots and hype campaigns.
• Solidus Labs identified the use of sniper bots and fake narratives to inflate token prices.
• Funds were moved through centralized exchanges and OTC brokers to avoid detection.

A recent investigation by Solidus Labs has uncovered a sophisticated pump-and-dump network operating through Telegram. Known as “PumpCell,” this group manipulated the markets for new tokens on the Solana and BNB Chain blockchains. In October 2025 alone, the group allegedly made $800,000 from orchestrating rapid token deployments and utilizing automated trading bots.

Solidus Labs tracked these activities and found that the group’s operations involved coordinated efforts to launch and inflate token prices. By seeding liquidity, using sniper bots, and hyping tokens through memes and fabricated narratives, PumpCell pushed micro-cap tokens to valuations reaching seven figures. These manipulative strategies were designed to deceive retail traders, inflating token prices before members cashed out, leaving investors with worthless assets.

The Operation Behind PumpCell

PumpCell’s strategy was built on rapid execution and cross-chain manipulation. Solidus Labs’ report explains how the group would first identify or deploy new tokens, ensuring there was sufficient liquidity to support price movement. Once the tokens were launched, members of the group used sniper bots like Maestro and Banana Gun to make quick purchases. These purchases were timed precisely to create large, artificial price spikes, triggering automatic trading alerts that drew in unsuspecting traders.

According to Solidus Labs, these spikes were designed to attract copy traders who entered the market based on automated alerts or social media posts. To further boost the appeal, the group spun various meme-driven narratives around the tokens, often impersonating established projects or leveraging viral cultural trends. As the price surged, members of PumpCell would exit their positions, dumping tokens onto the market and profiting at the peak before the price collapsed.

One notable example was the ZERO token on Solana, which reached a $2 million fully diluted valuation in less than an hour. Similar results were seen with other tokens such as “inspiration mushroom” and a parody token called the “Shanghai Composite Index 6900,” which also saw rapid surges in value before plummeting.

Moving Funds to Avoid Detection

After generating substantial profits, the members of PumpCell employed sophisticated methods to move funds in order to avoid detection and regulatory scrutiny. According to Solidus Labs, over a quarter of the wallets linked to the group funneled funds into centralized exchanges like Binance. These exchanges, which have compliance controls, were used to withdraw the gains into more traditional financial systems.

However, Solidus also discovered that some of the members used an Eastern European over-the-counter (OTC) broker. This broker provided physical cash in exchange for on-chain cryptocurrency transfers, a method that helped the group evade regulatory checks more effectively. These actions point to the challenges that regulators face when monitoring decentralized and permissionless markets, where traditional surveillance systems are often unable to track such fast-moving and anonymous transactions.

The Challenges of Monitoring Digital Assets

The rise of decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols and permissionless layer-2 solutions has created a unique environment for market manipulation. Solidus Labs highlighted that the tools typically used to monitor traditional centralized markets are not well-equipped to detect manipulation on decentralized platforms. The use of automated market makers (AMMs), ultra-fast contract deployment, and cross-chain transactions makes coordinated schemes like those of PumpCell difficult to track.

Spyridon Antonopoulos, Vice President of Investigations at Solidus Labs, explained that the network’s ability to move at such speed and scale requires modern surveillance tools. “Exchanges have an obligation to protect consumers,” Antonopoulos stated, especially with the increasing volume of tokens being launched every day on various blockchain networks. He emphasized the importance of integrating real-time analytics and on-chain fund tracing into monitoring systems to detect operations like PumpCell.

Solidus Labs’ investigation serves as a cautionary tale about the evolving nature of digital-asset abuse, which continues to challenge the traditional financial system’s ability to regulate and safeguard retail traders from market manipulation.

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