tl;dr
Jupiter, a crypto exchange, has denied involvement in the collapse of the Solana meme coin LIBRA, emphasizing transparency and stating that no evidence of insider trading was found after an internal investigation. The coin's dramatic rise and fall, triggered by Argentine President Javier Milei’s end...
Jupiter, a crypto exchange, has denied involvement in the collapse of the Solana meme coin LIBRA, emphasizing transparency and stating that no evidence of insider trading was found after an internal investigation. The coin's dramatic rise and fall, triggered by Argentine President Javier Milei’s endorsement, has raised suspicions of market manipulation and insider trading. Milei, facing political fallout, has requested an investigation into potential misconduct related to the launch. LIBRA's tokenomics and on-chain links to another token, MELANIA, have also raised concerns about market manipulation.
In a tweet, Jupiter stated that it had "nothing to hide" and that, “We take allegations of insider trading EXTREMELY seriously.” Following an internal investigation, no evidence of “sniping” by employees was found relating to the launch of LIBRA, it added. While some team members were aware weeks earlier of the impending launch of a token linked to Milei "at some point," they were not involved in the project’s dealings, the exchange said. Jupiter revealed that it first learned of the launch through venture capital firm Kelsier Ventures, and only after seeing Milei’s public confirmation did the seriousness of the project become clear.
The Jupiter team went on to acknowledge that the upcoming launch of an “Argentina Coin” had been “an open secret” in meme coin circles for some time, evidenced by numerous public tweets. Citing the exchange’s “ethos of confidentiality,” the firm claimed that its employees “did not speak about it with anyone at all, online or offline.” Jupiter also emphasized that the exchange’s pseudonymous founder "Meow Jupiter" was unaware of specific details of the launch, only becoming aware on the day it took place. Meow will reportedly issue a full statement regarding the matter.
Jupiter has faced criticism from crypto figures such as Benjamin Cowen, CEO and founder of ITC Crypto, who questioned the ethics of listing meme coins in the first place. “Memecoins are not good for crypto, no matter how anyone tries to spin it,” Cowen tweeted, pointing to concerns over market manipulation and the speculative nature of such tokens. LIBRA is now trading at $0.34 with a market cap of $336 million, down from its peak of $4 billion on Friday before its massive crash, per data from Dexscreener.
LIBRA’s crash has sparked political fallout in Argentina, with President Milei now facing impeachment threats and fraud charges as a result of his endorsement of the project. Milei’s office issued a statement clarifying that he had met with representatives from KIP Protocol, including Hayden Mark Davis, who was presented as a technological partner for the project. The President’s office also claimed that Milei was not part of the crypto’s development and only posted about the project on social media after learning about it from KIP Protocol. Following LIBRA’s crash, Milei deleted his post endorsing the meme coin, and announced he was requesting an investigation into potential misconduct related to the launch.