- Argentina‘s President Milei’s X account promoted a Solana meme coin LIBRA, causing its market cap to surge to $4.5 billion before crashing.
- The token price plummeted 87% from its peak of $4.50 to under $0.60 within hours of launch.
- Project claims to support Argentine economy through funding small businesses, but faces legitimacy concerns.
- Chainalysis identified red flags including single-wallet concentration and suspicious funding patterns.
- On-chain analysis suggests developers extracted $87M from liquidity pools, raising pump-and-dump concerns.
A controversial Solana-based meme coin promotion from President Javier Milei’s X account triggered a massive price surge followed by an equally dramatic crash, as traders rushed to capitalize on what appeared to be a presidential endorsement of the digital asset.
The token, dubbed LIBRA, saw its market capitalization briefly touch $4.5 billion after Milei’s account posted about the project, which claimed to support Argentine economic growth. According to DexScreener data, trading volume reached $1.1 billion within hours.
The incident bears striking similarities to January’s TRUMP token launch, though crucial differences emerged. While the TRUMP token proved legitimate, LIBRA’s legitimacy came under immediate scrutiny. Chainalysis, a leading blockchain analytics firm, identified several concerning patterns, including initial funding through instant swap services and concentrated token holdings.
“The address that created the token and the address holding a large portion of the LIBRA supply also appear to be controlled by single private keys, rather than multi-signature setups that are more common of established token launches,” reported Chainalysis.
On-chain analytics platform Bubblemaps revealed that project developers had withdrawn approximately $87 million in USDC and SOL from liquidity pools, suggesting a possible pump-and-dump scheme. This revelation accelerated the token’s price decline, which fell from $4.50 to below $0.60.
The project’s website, promoting the “Viva La Libertad Project,” promised to boost Argentina’s economy through small business funding. However, the combination of suspicious on-chain activity and unprecedented price volatility has left many investors questioning the project’s true intentions.
✅ Follow BITNEWSBOT on Telegram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X.com, and Google News for instant updates.
Previous Articles:
- SEC Signals Potential Settlement with Coinbase, Requests Filing Extension
- Grayscale Seeks SEC Approval to Add ETH Staking to Its Spot ETFs
- FBI’s Operation Level Up Saves $285M from Crypto Scammers, Protects Over 4,300 Victims
- SafeMoon Plans Solana Memecoin Launch After Massive Token Burn
- Bitcoin-Friendly El Salvador Eyes Closer US Banking Ties Under Potential Trump Presidency
