Diem Team Explored Nigeria for Meme Coin Venture
Reports suggest the team behind the LIBRA meme coin considered launching a similar cryptocurrency project in collaboration with figures within the Nigerian government.
Kelsier Ventures, already known for its controversial role in the Javier Milei meme coin situation, is allegedly considering the creation of a meme coin on the Solana (SOL) network, potentially partnering with individuals connected to Nigeria’s administration.
While Nigerian President Bola Tinubu himself isn’t directly linked to this venture, sources familiar with the matter indicate that individuals within his administration were involved. A source with inside knowledge told The Big Whale, “The project had progressed significantly.”
Kelsier Ventures gained notoriety after its involvement in the launch of the LIBRA meme coin. Following Argentinian President Javier Milei’s promotion of the coin on social media platform X, it rapidly increased in value from its initial launch price to over $4 before plummeting to below 50 cents shortly after, raising suspicions of a rug pull scam.
However, Hayden Davis, CEO of Kelsier Ventures, refuted the accusations of a pump-and-dump scheme. He claimed that the project’s developers strategically “sniped” the coin to prevent others from exploiting it. He maintained that the project was not intended to be fraudulent but rather a “plan that went terribly wrong,” and that approximately $100 million is being held in an account under his control.
In a YouTube interview conducted by Coffeezilla, Davis named Mauricio Novelli, Manuel Godoy, and Kip Protocol, among others, as key participants in the Libra project’s team.
Davis also admitted his participation in the launch of the Melania Trump memecoin, which, like Libra, was also sniped upon its initial release. Bubblemaps, a blockchain analysis firm, previously identified wallets linked to the creator of the Melania memecoin, which were also associated with transactions involving the LIBRA coin.
The planned Nigerian project by Kelsier Ventures is now unlikely to proceed. This is due not only to the negative publicity generated by the LIBRA and MELANIA incidents, but also to Nigeria’s complex and restrictive stance on cryptocurrencies. Nigeria has recently intensified its efforts to combat crypto activity. Notably, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) froze over 1,100 crypto trader bank accounts in September 2024 as part of its campaign to reduce crypto-related fraud.
