How the cycle actually works

A typical pump-and-dump starts with insiders (creators, early buyers) holding a large share of supply. They generate hype, through social media, influencers, or bot activity, to attract new buyers, which pushes the price up. Once the price is high enough, insiders sell their large holdings into that demand, crashing the price on everyone who bought in late.

This isn't a conspiracy theory, it's a well-documented, repeatable pattern, and it's the core reason meme coins that launch with a huge chunk of supply concentrated in a few wallets are especially risky.