Bubblemaps analysts uncovered on-chain evidence suggesting that the same team was behind the launches of both the LIBRA and MELANIA meme coins. The Solana wallet “0xcEA” was linked to both tokens, and secured millions in profits through rapid liquidity extraction and cross-chain transfers. This led to multiple lawsuits against Milei for fraud and market manipulation. KIP Protocol confirmed its involvement in the project but denied launching LIBRA, while Barstool Sports’ Dave Portnoy returned 6 million LIBRA tokens after a dispute over what he was allowed to disclose to his followers.
LIBRA and Melania Launches Expose Insider Sniping
Bubblemaps analysts uncovered new on-chain evidence suggesting that the same team behind the controversial launch of the Libra (LIBRA) meme coin was also responsible for launching the Melania (MELANIA) token. In a post on Feb. 17, the analytics firm stated that their findings indicate the team behind LIBRA, or someone closely associated with them, orchestrated both launches and engaged in strategic sniping to manipulate the price movements.
The investigation centers around a Solana wallet address known as “0xcEA,” which was linked to the sniping of Melania Trump’s meme coin launch on Jan. 19. The wallet reportedly netted $2.4 million in profits and quickly moved the funds to another wallet on Avalanche. Bubblemaps analysts tracked a series of unique transactions, including multiple cross-chain transfers and funding transactions through different Solana wallets, all seemingly intended to obscure the transaction history. Based on this activity, they concluded that the creator of Melania, or someone close to the team, sniped their own launch.
A few weeks later, Bubblemaps noticed that the same 0xcEA wallet funded the address that created the LIBRA token. When LIBRA launched on Feb. 15, the wallet repeated its previous behavior by sniping the token and securing $6 million in profits.
This activity was again conducted through multiple side addresses funded via cross-chain transfers from wallets on Arbitrum and Avalanche. The nearly identical patterns of sniping activity, coupled with the CCTP funding trails, led Bubblemaps to determine that both tokens were likely launched by the same people.
Further analysis revealed that the 0xcEA wallet was behind multiple high-profile “pump and dump” schemes, including a fraudulent Robinhood (HOOD) token that temporarily surged to a market capitalization of $120 million before collapsing. The evidence suggests that the same strategy of rapid liquidity extraction and price manipulation has been used across multiple token launches.
The fallout from the LIBRA launch has been very severe, thanks to the token’s endorsement by Argentine President Javier Milei. Insiders reportedly liquidated more than $107 million worth of assets, which caused the token to plummet by over 90% in just four hours. Blockchain intelligence firm Lookonchain identified at least eight wallets linked to the LIBRA team that siphoned $57.6 million in USD Coin (USDC) and 249,671 Solana, worth approximately $49.7 million at the time.
The Melania token suffered a similar fate. After launching on Jan. 19, it initially soared to a peak market cap of over $13 billion in just four hours before collapsing by 99%.
MELANIA price action since launch (Source: CoinMarketCap)
Argentine Lawyers Sue Milei for Promoting Libra
Argentine President Javier Milei is facing legal action after reportedly promoting the LIBRA cryptocurrency. The Libertad project’s native Solana-based token reached a market capitalization of $4.56 billion on Feb. 14 after Milei’s endorsement on X. However, the token plummeted by over 90% after Milei deleted the post, which led to accusations of market manipulation and a pump-and-dump scheme.
A criminal complaint was filed against Milei by lawyers Marcos Zelaya and Jonatan Baldiviezo, alongside engineer María Eva Koutsovitis and economist Claudio Lozano. The complaint alleges that Milei was complicit in fraud by promoting Libra and accuses him of violating Argentina’s Public Ethics Law. This law mandates that public officials disclose their assets and any potential conflicts of interest. Baldiviezo stated that Milei’s role in the incident was crucial, and argued that his actions were essential to enable fraud through the promotion of the token.
A judge is expected to be assigned to the case or refer it to a prosecutor for further investigation, according to a report by the Associated Press. Additionally, Argentine lawyer Agustín Rombolá, the founder of the Rombola Mangione law firm and a member of the political party Unión Cívica Radical, filed a separate legal complaint against Milei.
In a statement on X on Feb. 16, Rombolá accused Milei of fraud, price manipulation, financial crimes, and engaging in negotiations incompatible with his public office. Rombolá’s firm is also preparing a class-action lawsuit on behalf of investors who suffered losses because of the token’s collapse.
After the controversy, Milei called on the Anti-Corruption Office to investigate all members of the government, including himself, for any potential misconduct. The findings will be shared with the courts.
In response to the allegations, the presidential office claimed that Milei was unaware of the details of the project when he endorsed it and had no direct ties to the company behind the token’s launch.
KIP Protocol Confirms Involvement in Libra Project
KIP Protocol, a Web3 company specializing in AI payment infrastructure, confirmed its involvement in the Libertad project. During a Feb. 15 X Spaces event, KIP Protocol CEO and co-founder Julian Peh stated that the company was hired as a tech consultancy to assist in distributing project funds to local businesses in Argentina. According to Peh, KIP Protocol did not create the token, act as a market maker, or profit from selling it. However, he did not share additional details about other entities involved in LIBRA’s launch.
In a separate social media post, Peh also shared that KIP Protocol is still committed to running Project Libertad and supporting businesses in Argentina as originally planned.
Dave Portnoy Rejected LIBRA Tokens After Disclosure Dispute
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy also recently revealed that he returned 6 million LIBRA tokens to the project’s founder, Hayden Davis, after learning that he was not allowed to share that he had been compensated for promoting the token. Portnoy said he was initially given between 6 million and 6.5 million LIBRA tokens as payment for endorsing the project on social media but ultimately decided to return them after Davis instructed him to keep the compensation confidential.
During a Feb. 16 X Spaces event, Portnoy explained that he refused to accept the tokens under those conditions as he needed to be transparent about his involvement. He placed a lot of emphasis on the fact that his decision to return the tokens happened before the controversy surrounding LIBRA erupted, and insisted that he had no prior knowledge of the project’s eventual collapse. While he sent back the tokens he was given, Portnoy kept the ones he purchased himself, which later lost almost all their value after the token crashed.
As LIBRA’s value plummeted, Portnoy stayed in contact with Davis and saw the project’s unraveling in real time. Despite the widespread accusations of fraud and a potential pump-and-dump scheme, Portnoy is doubtful that Davis intentionally orchestrated a rug pull. Instead, he speculated that Argentine President Javier Milei may have unexpectedly withdrawn his support at a critical moment, which caused complications that contributed to the token’s collapse.
