Original | Odaily (@OdailyChina)
Author | Wenser (@wenser 2010)
This week, the controversy surrounding LIBRA, which was previously endorsed by the President of Argentina, Milei, is still ongoing.
According to the latest news, YouTube reporter Coffeezilla revealed that "the team behind LIBRA (Odaily note: to be precise, this refers to Hayden Davis of Kelsier Ventures) admitted to targeting their own token." Furthermore, "a member of the team was also involved in the previous launch of Melania Trump's token and similarly targeted the token for profit-taking."
Meanwhile, members of the Meteora and Jupiter teams are also embroiled in a public controversy for having prior knowledge of the LIBRA token launch. As the "public face" of the LIBRA token, Argentine President Milei has also been criticized by domestic political forces and crypto industry practitioners, and has had to take remedial actions.
Amidst the fog, what is the truth about LIBRA? Who are the "masterminds" behind the LIBRA token? Are the Jupiter and Meteora teams innocent? Odaily will analyze the above questions one by one in this article for readers' reference.
The Freedom and Shackles of LIBRA: The Reconciliation of Crypto Forces and Political Figures
Since the launch of Trump's official Meme coin TRUMP, it can be said that Trump has become the man who "opened Pandora's box".
Since then, the reconciliation between crypto forces and political figures has no longer been mainly focused on political donations and lobbying regulators, but has turned to participating in the market and collaborating to reap the rewards. LIBRA is a product of this trend, and as time goes on, the costs underlying this trend are piling up.
Uncovering LIBRA: From Presidential Endorsement to Presidential Betrayal, Over $4 Billion Evaporated in 6 Hours
In our previous article 《After the Argentine President Issued a Meme Coin, He Reneged and Provoked Outrage. Who Profited and Who Got Fleeced?》, the opening of LIBRA was already dramatically tense.
Argentine President Milei first posted token promotion-related information on the X platform and Instagram, and then directly deleted the corresponding tweets and turned against it, claiming he had been maliciously exploited. Affected by this news, the LIBRA token plummeted, and in less than half a day, its market capitalization fell from around $4.6 billion to less than $200 million, as if the bubble had been instantly wiped out, with over $4 billion evaporating in 6 hours.
As a result, the KIP Protocol team behind the LIBRA official website was placed in the spotlight of the market and became the target of verbal and written attacks.
KIP Protocol's subsequent response (Odaily note: the main content being "LIBRA is a private enterprise project, and Argentine President Milei was not involved in the development") only added fuel to the fire, making the situation even more tense; and the news of the LIBRA team cashing out $107 million (Odaily note: according to LookOnChain monitoring, 8 wallets related to the LIBRA team obtained 5.76 million USDC and 249,671 SOL, about $49.7 million, through adding liquidity, removing liquidity and charging fees, totaling about $107 million in cash-outs.) became the trigger for the angry emotions of market participants, making many people feel a sense of "being deceived" - was the Argentine President Milei's coin issuance just a facade, and was it actually a Rug pull scheme to steal our trading funds?
Chaofan Shou, a member of the Solayer team who lost hundreds of millions of dollars, even chose to "dox" the KIP Protocol team members directly, in an attempt to track down the real identities of the LIBRA team and the perpetrators of the Rug pull scheme.
However, the response from the KIP Protocol team was beyond market expectations. Its co-founder and CEO Julian made multiple responses:
He first explained the identity of the KIP Protocol team in the LIBRA token incident and the profits from the LIBRA token, stating that the LIBRA project funds are still on-chain, and KIP only assisted in managing the fund distribution; later, he emphasized that he "did not profit from LIBRA and did not hide away." Regarding the previous statement issued by the official account, he also clarified that "the wording of the previous statement was inappropriate, but it will not be deleted to show transparency."
Interestingly, one part of Julian's multiple responses was quite thought-provoking, where he mentioned: "KIP Protocol's main role in this project was to help distribute funds to the Argentine company, not as the token issuer, nor as a market maker. It's worth noting that LIBRA had no pre-sale, and all tokens were sold through a unilateral liquidity pool."
Amidst the curses and doubts, the controversy surrounding the LIBRA project continues.
LIBRA Becomes a Game of Werewolf: KIP, Kelsier Ventures Leap as Seers
In the early morning of February 16, the KIP Protocol official account posted again, finally revealing the true identities of the LIBRA token issuer and market maker.
The KIP Protocol official account mentioned: "The release and market making of LIBRA were entirely handled by @KelsierVentures, represented by founder Hayden Davis. The related profit-making wallets do not belong to KIP or co-founder Julian. After the token was released, KIP was invited to manage/oversee the selection of funded technical projects and provide technical infrastructure for the AI plan. All matters related to token issuance should be contacted with Kelsier, as they are handling this and plan to transfer the tokens to a foundation."
Just as the market was guessing that KIP Protocol might be diverting blame and confusing the public, Kelsier Ventures' Hayden Davis couldn't sit still.
Hayden Davis, Founder of Kelsier Ventures
Around 8 am on the 16th, Hayden Davis directly posted a video and text statement on the Kelsier official account, in which he mentioned:
He was an advisor to Argentine President Milei (Odaily note: a tweet posted by the Kelsier official account on January 31 showing the two meeting also corroborates this), but the development of the situation has gone beyond his control;
Milei's team had assured Hayden Davis that they would continue to support during the LIBRA issuance, but their deletion of tweets did not inform Kelsier, the collaborating party, in advance, causing LIBRA token traders to feel deeply betrayed, leading to the subsequent market crash and plummeting market cap;
The KIP team and co-founder Julian have not engaged in any misconduct, and he speculates that the Argentine President Milei's team is trying to shift the blame to KIP and Julian to avoid their own responsibility;
Going forward, he will try to recover all the funds related to the LIBRA token - including profits, liquidity, etc. - and inject them back into the LIBRA token trading pair within the next 48 hours.
If the above content is a response to the LIBRA token project itself, the other piece of information he mentioned involves an even wider "potential scandal" - according to Hayden Davis' revelation, "Photon, Bullex, Meteora, Jupiter, Moonshot and other projects have all profited from LIBRA".
Here is the English translation of the text, with the content inside <> retained without translation, and no additional analysis or explanation added:
Hayden Davis' written statement in response
As soon as the news came out, the industry was in an uproar.
Previously, when the TRUMP token was launched, platforms like Moonshot and Jupiter quickly verified and listed it, which had led to market speculation that Solana ecosystem projects might have had vested interests with the team behind the TRUMP token; the launch of the MELANIA token, the wife of former US President Trump, had also raised suspicions of "a fraud scheme launched by a conspiracy group", but it was not until the emergence of LIBRA and the direct exposure by Hayden Davis that people's attention was once again drawn to projects like Jupiter, Meteora, and Moonshot, and speculations arose about the roles these projects played in the various Meme coin events involving political figures.
The Great Trial of the Solana Ecosystem Triggered by the LIBRA Token: Are Jupiter and Meteora Innocent?
It is worth mentioning that Chaofan Shou, a member of the Solayer team, due to losing over $2 million with another team engineer Tony in the LIBRA event, conducted an in-depth and detailed tracking and analysis of the on-chain information related to the LIBRA token, and finally compiled a project relationship map, with the main information as follows:
The behind-the-scenes conspiracy group of this token issuance launched LIBRA through the issuance advisor Hayden Davis (Kelsier Ventures), and is suspected of outsourcing the market making to an Indian company. Kelsier and the market maker are also insiders of MELANIA, ENRON, BOB, RAG, M 3 M 3, OGME, and AIAI. In addition, this group owns the M 3 M 3 Launchpad.
Token relationship map triggered by LIBRA
Furthermore, the blockchain data company Bubblemaps subsequently published an article stating that after a series of on-chain behavior analysis, they are convinced that MELANIA and LIBRA are backed by the same team. The creator or insider of the MELANIA token personally participated in the token sniping. The address subsequently provided funding for the LIBRA token creator's address, and also made a profit of $6 million through token sniping, with the same approach as MELANIA. In addition, similar profit-making token projects include TRUST, KACY, VIBES, and HOOD.
Of course, this information only indicates the relationship between LIBRA and the MELANIA token project, and has little to do with Solana ecosystem infrastructure projects like Jupiter and Meteora, but the subsequent on-chain information has brought a different twist.
Meteora: The First Werewolf? "Limited Suspicion"
According to monitoring by Arkham, 70% of LIBRA's supply is located in 2 addresses, and 15% of the supply was directly deposited by the developer address into the Meteora LP. The developer address has already collected over $20 million in transaction fees from these deposits.
This has led to market speculation that Meteora may be a co-conspirator of the LIBRA token team, but later the Meteora team member benchow.sol clarified that: "The Meteora team was not involved in the deployment, market making or release of LIBRA. The LIBRA team used Meteora, which is a permissionless platform. We have never had any contact with this token or Argentine President Milei. Many teams create Meteora pools through CLI/SDK/CPI, and we do often help them with our technology. As we learn more, we will share more information in the future."
It is worth noting that benchow.sol had previously commented on Hayden Davis' tweet about his meeting with Argentine President Milei, saying "It looks like something is about to change the world", which led the market to suspect that he had prior knowledge of the LIBRA token project and was personally involved.
Ben Chow later responded to the accusations again, stating: "Meteora and I have never privately received or managed any tokens, nor have we participated in any off-chain transactions. We maintain the highest level of confidentiality regarding the launch of any tokens on our platform. For confidentiality reasons, only a few people within Meteora can access launch information. Usually, only I know the launch time, and the token/pool addresses are only provided to me and one or two on-call engineers (if any) just minutes before launch."
Hayden Davis of Kelsier Ventures is one of the deployers/market makers I have recommended to projects in the past few months. We don't have a special relationship with Kelsier, we just had some cooperation when M 3 M 3 was launched a few years ago. In that cooperation, they seemed trustworthy, so I have recommended them to some projects, including the team behind MELANIA. As with other projects, our role is limited to technical support, and we have not purchased, received or managed any tokens related to MELANIA. As for LIBRA, although we learned of its potential through Hayden a few weeks ago, we have not participated in the project beyond providing IT support. Neither I nor the Meteora team have leaked information to disrupt the launch of LIBRA, nor have we purchased, received or managed any tokens. In simple terms, we are just providing technical support, occasionally acting as a pimp to introduce resources to our partners, and we are outside the LIBRA token incident.
Jupiter & Moonshot: The Second Werewolf? "Acquitted"
In the LIBRA incident, Gm Capital founder Beanie posted that Moonshot, as Jupiter's listing platform, had listed the token, causing some people to mistakenly believe it was the official token of the Argentine president and buy it, resulting in losses, and thus questioning Moonshot and Jupiter.
Regarding this, Jupiter team member Kash Dhanda first spoke out saying, "The Jupiter team was not involved in the release of the LIBRA token. We did not participate in the deployment, market making, or issuance. We also did not pre-verify the token, and only verified it after its market cap exceeded $1.5 billion. During the process, dozens of fake tokens emerged, and given the official public statement disclosing the CA, we hope to ensure users can identify the correct token."
He later clarified: "LIBRA was never listed on Moonshot, it always displayed a warning. Since Moonshot is a DEX, all tokens can technically be traded on it, but they never 'listed' LIBRA, it just appeared on the trending page due to trading volume indicators, but always with a warning."
This information has also been verified by multiple community members previously. LIBRA token was not verified through the Moonshot platform, but rather used the platform's recent "token listing feature" to display itself. This feature allows searching for projects by token contract, but Moonshot did not verify it and marked it with a corresponding warning.
Moonshot platform warning page
Jupiter co-founder Siong later also stated bluntly, "Jupiter has not colluded with projects like LIBRA and ENRON, we have no direct financial interests in these projects."
At the moment, Jupiter and the Moonshot platform seem to be "innocent", but the "regulatory laxity" problem caused by the platform's functional updates is also difficult to shirk.
The Subsequent Developments of LIBRA: The Argentine Government, KIP & Kelsier & Hayden Davis, and Figures in the Argentine Crypto Sector
After the LIBRA incident, the subsequent developments have shown a situation of each party holding their own views. Odaily Planet Daily has summarized the following:
Here is the English translation:Argentine Government: Not Familiar with Hayden Davis, Will Launch Anti-Corruption Investigation
The Argentine Presidential Office issued a statement on the LIBRA token incident, stating: "On October 19, 2014, President Milei met with representatives of the KIP Protocol in Argentina, where he learned that the company planned to develop a project called 'Viva la Libertad' using blockchain technology to provide funding for private enterprises in the Argentine Republic. The President attended this meeting, which was officially recorded in the public hearing registry, with participants including KIP Protocol representatives Mauricio Novellli and Julian Peh, as well as the President's spokesman Manuel Adorni. In this context, on January 30, 2025, the President held a meeting at the Pink Palace with Hayden Mark Davis, who, according to KIP Protocol representatives, would provide the technical infrastructure for his project. Davis has never had any relationship with the Argentine government, past or present, and the KIP Protocol representatives introduced him as one of the project's partners. Finally, on February 15, the President shared a post on his personal account announcing the launch of the KIP Protocol project, just as he does with many entrepreneurs who want to start projects in Argentina to create jobs and attract investment. Since he was not involved in the development of any cryptocurrency, and to avoid any speculation and further dissemination after the project launch generated a reaction, he decided to delete the post.
Given the facts, President Milei has decided to immediately request the intervention of the Anti-Corruption Office (OA) to determine if any members of the national government, including the President himself, have engaged in any improper conduct.
On the other hand, the President has decided to set up an investigative working group (UTI) within the Presidential Palace, composed of representatives from institutions and organizations related to crypto assets, financial activities, money laundering, and other relevant areas, who will integrate information and conduct an urgent investigation into the launch of LIBRA and all companies or individuals involved in the aforementioned actions. All information collected during the investigation will be transferred to the courts to determine if any company or individual related to the KIP Protocol project has committed a crime. President Milei has demonstrated his commitment to the truth through his actions, and is determined to thoroughly clarify the facts of this incident until the final result is revealed."
KIP Protocol: The President's Statement is Incorrect
In response to the statement from the Argentine President Milei, KIP Protocol stated: "Mauricio Novelli has never been a member of the KIP Protocol team, but is the founder of TechForum Argentina, which KIP Protocol sponsored in October 2024. KIP Protocol has never held any meeting with Argentine President Milei (Javier Milei) in January 2025."
Kelsier & Hayden Davis: Just Want to End This Drama Quickly, Use Funds to Buy Peace
According to the online interview of Kelsier Ventures founder Hayden Davis by YouTube reporter Coffeezilla, the latter is currently willing to use all the funds obtained from the LIBRA token to repurchase the tokens or inject liquidity pools. This is also consistent with the statement previously issued by KIP Protocol.
However, the specific disposal is still pending verification over time.
Argentine Crypto Community: Implicated, Deeply Ashamed
Regarding the Argentine President Milei's endorsement of LIBRA, Federico Carrone, the founder of the well-known Argentine development team LambdaClass, wrote: "I'm wondering if Lambda should file a lawsuit. I will discuss this with friends and lawyers. I don't want to make money from this, but this can't just end like this. This has ruined the cryptocurrency market in Argentina. Many friends ask me why I'm in this industry, and in the past few days, all cryptocurrency companies based in Argentina look like scammers. Many honest builders who have been in this industry for decades have been passively implicated by this stupid behavior."
In addition, there are reports that Argentine President Milei may face legal issues due to the promotion of the LIBRA token, causing users to suffer massive losses. Cryptocurrency litigation firm Burwick Law is currently providing agency services for victims of this project. The analysis points out that the Argentine government is concerned that the losses of foreign investors may lead to OFAC sanctions or even asset seizures.
However, a subsequent Bloomberg report may have dispelled this concern, as Milei's previous excellent performance is likely to allow him to avoid paying a major political price.
Conclusion: Whether LIBRA Can Make It to the Other Shore Mainly Depends on Hayden Davis' Performance
While Binance co-founder CZ was stirring up the crypto market with "the name of his dog", Argentine President Milei's erratic attitude also made the crypto market, including a host of crypto KOLs, retail investors, and exchanges, feel like they were being toyed with.
It must be said that when celebrities have huge influence, the impact on the crypto market, which particularly values the attention economy, can sometimes be disastrous.
In view of this, I personally think that the crypto market may later establish a customary rule: presidents and dogs, forbidden to enter. What do you think?
