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Following Argentine President Javier Milei’s public support for the LIBRA meme coin on February 14, 2025, the cryptocurrency quickly attracted scrutiny from experts due to suspicions of a pump-and-dump scheme. A rapid sell-off by insiders saw them extract $107 million, triggering a dramatic collapse in LIBRA’s value. This crash evaporated over $4 billion from its market capitalization within just a few short hours. This report will delve into the market’s reaction to these events, the prevailing community sentiment, and the overall impact of $LIBRA’s launch and subsequent downfall. We will also examine the roles played by key individuals, the Argentine government, and consider the potential future for the controversial $LIBRA coin.

From Launch to Letdown: The LIBRA Meme Coin Story

$LIBRA is a digital currency created by entrepreneur Hayden Davis, who also heads Kelsier Ventures, a firm specializing in crypto investments. Bloomberg reports that KIP Protocol, a company focused on decentralized artificial intelligence, was initially involved in the $LIBRA launch.

KIP Protocol, however, asserts that their involvement began post-launch, focusing on assisting in the selection of technology projects and providing support for AI initiatives. The coin operates on the Solana blockchain, a network favored by meme coin traders for its fast and inexpensive transaction capabilities.

The token was made available for purchase through a website, vivalalibertadproject.com, which shares a slogan frequently used by President Milei, whose political party is also named La Libertad Avanza.

Presidential Support Fuels Rapid Price Increase

On the evening of February 14th, Argentine President Javier Milei announced via social media that the $LIBRA token would be beneficial for Argentina’s economy and provide support for small businesses. He included a link to the token’s website, promoting it as a vehicle for funding local enterprises and ventures. Reports indicate that the $LIBRA token was created immediately before Milei’s announcement, with the website domain being registered on the same day.

Milei’s post asserted that Argentina was attracting global investment. Initially priced near zero, with ownership concentrated in a few digital wallets, $LIBRA’s value soared after Milei’s endorsement, reaching almost $5 and pushing its market capitalization to over $4 billion.

But it gets worse.

The website was created hours before launch, as shown below.

The domain was registered for a 1-year registration period.

There is no public owner information and there are multiple restricted domain statuses.

Was this project literally created overnight? pic.twitter.com/IpzuHWkHfL

— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) February 15, 2025

However, a community note quickly appeared on his post, cautioning users to verify the project’s legitimacy before investing, suggesting it might be a scam where developers abandon the project after raising funds. Shortly thereafter, Milei deleted his original post, stating he lacked full awareness of the project’s specifics and was withdrawing his support.

Within mere hours, the token’s value plummeted to pennies, and its market capitalization shrank by over $4.4 billion. According to The Kobeissi Letter, insiders began selling off $87.4 million worth of $LIBRA within the first three hours of its launch. Furthermore, it was revealed that 82% of the tokens were controlled by a single, undisclosed group, lacking transparency about the token’s economic structure.

Hayden Davis, the entrepreneur behind $LIBRA, admitted to retaining some profits despite the dramatic downturn of the token.

Unexpected Presidential Endorsement Raises Eyebrows

Following the launch of the Official Trump (TRUMP) memecoin by former US President Donald Trump on January 18, interest in celebrity-endorsed memecoins rose significantly. This was closely followed by the launch of the Melania Meme (MELANIA) token by former First Lady Melania Trump on January 19, also on the Solana network, just before the presidential inauguration on January 20.

Despite acknowledging his mistake, the president subsequently retweeted a post providing instructions on how to purchase the Libra memecoin. The endorsement of the Libra meme coin by the Argentine president was highly unexpected. Promotion of a seemingly random meme coin by such a high-ranking government official is considered highly inappropriate. This action by the president is seen as unusual and suggests potential direct involvement in the alleged scam.

The Libra scam also had repercussions for the TRUMP token, leading to a $500 million decrease in its market capitalization.

Argentina Initiates Official $LIBRA Investigation

Prior to the market crash, blockchain analytics companies had already voiced concerns about the project. For instance, Bubblemaps, a blockchain analysis firm, highlighted problematic tokenomics associated with LIBRA, pointing out the initial availability of 82% of tokens for immediate sale.

According to a public statement from Argentina’s presidential office, the Oficina del Presidente, released on X on February 16, President Milei has requested the Anti-Corruption Office to investigate himself and all other government members for any potential wrongdoing.

Simultaneously, Milei faces pressure from political opponents who are calling for his impeachment following his promotion of a cryptocurrency that resulted in a reported $100 million scam.

In his public statements and tweets, Milei has denied prior knowledge of the project. However, these statements have since been removed. Furthermore, conflicting accounts are emerging from other parties involved. Early Monday, KIP Protocol, a crypto and AI organization that has previously collaborated with the Argentine government, issued a detailed statement refuting several claims regarding their role in the LIBRA token launch.

The firm maintains that their CEO, Julian Peh, only met with President Milei once on October 19, 2024, and that this meeting did not encompass any specific projects, including “Viva la Libertad” or any token launches. The company also stated that no other staff members had meetings with the Argentine President.

$LIBRA Conspiracy: Key Individuals and Their Roles Unveiled

Following the LIBRA coin controversy, investigative journalist Coffeezilla contacted individuals with connections to the 0xcEA wallet address and its creators. His findings implicated Hayden Mark Devis, CEO of Kelsier Ventures, his father Tom Davis, and Arunkumar Sugadevan—a known figure associated with scams—as being behind the scheme.

In an interview, Tom Davis admitted that their group not only created the LIBRA memecoin but also manipulated its initial distribution to extract profits. They employed multiple wallet addresses to engage in early purchasing and made $6 million from these actions.

Insider Trading Methods Deployed

The investigation into the LIBRA scam revealed that the perpetrators utilized insider information to exploit market dynamics for their benefit. They used numerous wallets to rapidly acquire substantial amounts of the token upon its launch, a tactic commonly referred to as “sniping.”

This strategy involves purchasing a newly launched token immediately after its release, frequently before average investors have the opportunity to react. These early investors then liquidate their large holdings within hours for substantial profits, leaving regular investors with depreciated assets.

In the LIBRA case, the snipers associated with the 0xcEA wallet address sold over $100 million worth of the token precisely when its market value peaked, capitalizing on the price surge and leaving other investors holding significantly reduced-value assets.

Links Between Melania and Libra Meme Coins Investigated

A collaborative investigation led by Bubblemaps, a blockchain analytics firm, and pseudonymous on-chain investigator Stephen Findeisen, also known as Coffeezilla, has uncovered evidence suggesting that the same group orchestrated the unsuccessful launches of both the LIBRA and MELANIA tokens. Bubblemaps stated on Twitter, “After analyzing cross-chain transfers and timing patterns, we’re highly confident this is the case.”

The investigation revealed connected wallet activity across different projects demonstrating how profits from one scheme were used to finance another via cross-chain transfers. For instance, a key wallet on the Solana network, identified as “P5tb4,” generated over $2.4 million from initial trades of the MELANIA token and subsequently transferred these funds to an Avalanche wallet, “0xcEA,” which is directly linked to the token’s creator.

Blockchain records indicate that the wallet 0xcEA transferred 1.6 million USDC to three Solana wallets just hours before the $LIBRA token launch. These wallets then swiftly purchased 3.77 million $LIBRA tokens and sold them for 8.25 million USDC, realizing a profit of $6.65 million.

Further analysis suggests that the wallet “0xcEAe…06e2” transferred USDC from Avalanche to Solana and made payments to Dave Portnoy, indicating a potential direct link between this wallet and the $LIBRA team.

The LIBRA token, which briefly enjoyed support from Argentine President Javier Milei, quickly reached a multi-billion-dollar market cap before experiencing a 95% collapse when insiders withdrew $87 million. Similarly, the MELANIA token, endorsed by the U.S. First Lady in January, initially surged in value but later crashed, resulting in substantial losses for ordinary investors.

According to Bubblemaps, this group has likely spearheaded several other token launches with names such as TRUST, KACY, VIBES, and HOOD, all exhibiting similar patterns of rapid profit-taking followed by sharp decreases in value.

Tracing the Same Snipers: From TRUMP to LIBRA Coins

New data from Arkham reveals a pattern of rapid, large-scale purchases by the same entity behind both the TRUMP and LIBRA memecoin launches. Blockchain records demonstrate that an entity associated with the 6QS address—which sniped over $1 million worth of TRUMP tokens in the initial block of its launch—proceeded to distribute these tokens to the 5CP wallet and related addresses, eventually selling TRUMP for considerable profits.

The entity that bought $5M of LIBRA just now is connected to the entity that sniped $1M of TRUMP in the first block of its launch.

This entity sniped $1M+ of TRUMP as soon as it launched on the address 6QS. All of this TRUMP was distributed to 5CP, which then split TRUMP between… pic.twitter.com/oCua5ISNZt

— Arkham (@arkham) February 17, 2025

Shortly after President Javier Milei retweeted a “How to Buy LIBRA” post, an address linked to this consistent network purchased $5 million worth of LIBRA.

This swift, high-volume purchase mirrors the earlier TRUMP sniping strategy, suggesting a consistent approach to exploiting memecoin launches and endorsements. Investigators suggest that such repeated, large-scale tactics indicate systematic insider market manipulation, raising serious concerns that the individuals behind these trades are orchestrating pump-and-dump schemes across multiple projects.

Conclusion

Until the conclusion of the ongoing investigation, questions remain about the true orchestrators of the scam: Was it the President of Argentina, KIP Protocol, Kelsier Ventures, or Hayden Davis?

The LIBRA incident underscores the growing risks inherent in the memecoin market. While the potential for quick returns attracts many investors, the primary beneficiaries are often insiders.

As more fraudulent schemes are brought to light, the need for stronger regulation and increased transparency within the memecoin space becomes increasingly critical. The role of the 0xcEA wallet in the LIBRA scam exemplifies the darker aspects of the crypto world, where deceptive financial practices and dishonesty are prevalent, often without adequate oversight.
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