Solana-based meme coin LIBRA controversy heats up, Argentina President hit by lawsuit

• Argentina’s President Javier Milei faces charges of fraud for the promotion of LIBRA meme coin on the Solana blockchain. 
• An on-chain intelligence tracker links LIBRA meme coin to MELANIA and claims that the creator extracted $100 million from the former. 
• Solana meme coin category wiped 5% from its market capitalization down to $11 million, as seen on CoinGecko. 

Solana-based meme coin LIBRA is making headlines for its alleged ties to the MELANIA token, according to on-chain intelligence tracker Bubblemaps. 

The high-profile meme coin was promoted by Argentina’s President Javier Milei, who is currently facing a lawsuit. At the time of writing on Monday, the Solana-based meme coin category is hit by a 5% decline in its market capitalization and embroiled in a scandal. 

Solana meme coin pump and dump and insider allegations

Solana observed a spike in its popularity, revenue and user activity fueled by the meme coin frenzy on the blockchain. However, recent news uncovered that there are insiders “pumping and dumping” the meme tokens, and some projects, like LIBRA and MELANIA, were created by the same entity that drained the former of $100 million. 

The meme coin category on Solana has suffered a 5% drop in its market capitalization on Monday, hovering above $11 million at the time of writing. 

MELANIA, the meme coin endorsed by the United States (US) First Lady, and LIBRA, promoted by the President of Argentina Javier Milei, have captured headlines for speculation, insider allegations, and the loss of investor funds. 

Argentina’s President Milei faces a lawsuit for the token’s promotion. News from the Associated Press shows that lawyers in Argentina have filed fraud charges against Milei, accusing the President of promoting a meme coin that was a “rug pull” scam. 

Typically, a rug pull occurs when developers rally the token higher and bail out or pull funds, wiping out investment from market participants. Jonatan Baldiviezo, a lawyer and plaintiff, said,

“Within this illicit association, the crime of fraud was committed, in which the President’s actions were essential.”

Investigators at Bubblemaps identified multiple ways to connect 0xcEA with the creator of MELANIA through funding transactions and cross-chain transfers. 

The wallet associated with the creator of LIBRA, which pulled $87 million from the meme token, has been linked to MELANIA.