On Tuesday, Zhao pledged 150 BNB, valued at roughly $100,000, to support individuals impacted by the failure of the controversial LIBRA coin. This pledge came after a college student named EnHeng initiated a fundraising effort to aid the affected victims, starting the process of collecting donations.

However, Zhao’s choice to publicly disclose the donation address resulted in a surge of cryptocurrency contributions to the same address, exceeding his original donation amount.

EnHeng, deeply moved by the significant financial hardships caused by the LIBRA crypto—promoted by Argentina’s President Javier Milei—which destroyed the investments of over 40,000 people, leading to more than $4 billion in losses, subsequently announced a personal donation of $50,000.

“The desire for quick profits often leads to losses,” Zhao remarked on X. “However, generosity often leads to unexpected returns.”

Despite the increase in donated funds, Zhao explicitly stated that he would not retain any of the extra cryptocurrency.

“I will not keep even the smallest fraction of it,” Zhao confirmed in his tweet, indicating that he intends to donate all the additional crypto to further assist victims, particularly those who have suffered losses from other meme coins such as TST and Broccoli—the latter being inspired by CZ’s own pet dog.

Zhao also cautioned his followers against interpreting his supportive actions as a promotion or endorsement for any of the involved tokens.

The LIBRA Scam: A Presidential Endorsement Leads to Financial Chaos

The launch of the LIBRA token last Friday triggered significant controversy after Argentina’s President, Javier Milei, publicly endorsed it on his X profile.

This endorsement caused a rapid increase in the coin’s value, with its market capitalization reaching over $4 billion within mere hours of its market debut.

Initially, Milei promoted LIBRA as a venture intended to provide financial aid to small businesses in Argentina and stimulate the national economy, associating it with the “Viva La Libertad” initiative.

However, this period of excitement was short-lived. Just hours later, the token’s value plummeted by over 91%, resulting in substantial financial losses for investors, some of whom reportedly lost their entire savings.

Following the dramatic crash of the coin, Milei removed his endorsement post and denied any connection to the project, arguing that he had received misleading information and lacked complete details about it.

Subsequently, fraud allegations were brought against Milei and the team responsible for LIBRA, with accusations of involvement in a significant fraudulent operation.

Blockchain analysis revealed that a single entity held control over 82% of LIBRA’s total supply, which intensified suspicions of market manipulation.

Platforms like Jupiter and Meteora, which offered technical infrastructure for LIBRA, have come under scrutiny, and Meteora’s co-founder, Ben Chow, stepped down amidst claims of insider trading and improper conduct in the wake of the token’s downfall.

Edited by Sebastian Sinclair