Solana Exchange Jupiter: LIBRA Launch ‘An Open Secret’ In Meme Coin Circles

Crypto exchange Jupiter has denied any involvement in the collapse of Solana meme coin LIBRA, which saw its market cap plummet by over 90% after insiders reportedly cashed out millions in liquidity.

LIBRA’s dramatic rise and fall within hours of its launch, triggered by Argentine President Javier Milei’s endorsement, has fueled suspicions of insider trading and 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.

“We were completely unaware of the dealings between the principals, in this case Milei and the market makers, and were not involved in it in any way, shape, or form,” Jupiter wrote.

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. “No one working on Jupiter products knew the day, time or CA of the launch in advance,” the exchange added.

“An open secret”

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.

Decrypt has reached out to Jupiter for comment, and will update this story should the exchange respond.

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 controversial launch

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.

“The President has decided to immediately involve the Anti-Corruption Office (OA) to determine whether there was improper conduct on the part of any member of the National Government, including the President himself,” the statement read.

The tokenomics of LIBRA initially raised concerns, with blockchain analytics firm Bubblemaps revealing that 82% of the token’s supply was controlled by a few wallets, which raised suspicions about market manipulation.

Following LIBRA’s crash, the firm also uncovered on-chain links between the LIBRA token and the launch of Melania Trump’s MELANIA token.