Ben Chow, one of the co-founders of Meteora, has stepped down from his position within the Solana-based DEX following the listing of the contentious cryptocurrency LIBRA on the platform.
His fellow co-founder, known as Meow and also the founder of the DEX aggregator platform Jupiter Exchange, made a public statement regarding the situation. Meow expressed concerns about Ben’s decision-making and oversight of crucial aspects of the Meteora project in recent months.
“While I have full confidence in Ben’s integrity, his leadership has displayed lapses in judgment and attentiveness to certain fundamental project elements (Meteora) (given its existing scale and reputation) over the recent period.”
Addressing the matter further, Meow added,
“Such conduct is regrettably intolerable. Ben recognizes this and has taken the decision to resign.”
Debacle Surrounding LIBRA
The launch of LIBRA on February 15th was initially championed by President Javier Milei as a means to provide benefits to the people of Argentina.
Despite reaching a market capitalization of $4.56 billion, its value plummeted by 95% within just four hours of its introduction. Insider team members were reportedly responsible for a massive sell-off totaling $87 million, according to findings from blockchain analytics firm Bubblemaps.
The revelation that the orchestrated ‘pump and dump tactic’ was orchestrated by Hayden Davis of Kelsier Ventures heightened the ensuing fallout. Davis’ team was also linked to other controversial tokens such as TRUMP and MELANIA.
The Argentine President is now facing mounting pressure from opposition forces to step down due to alleged involvement in the LIBRA project, allegations he vehemently denies.
He shifted blame onto the LIBRA team, asserting that he merely “shared” the project and did not actively promote it.
Conversely, Hayden Davis admitted to involvement in insider trading with the Official Trump [TRUMP] token but sought to implicate Meteora and Jupiter in the LIBRA scandal as well.
In a firm rebuttal, both Meteora and Jupiter refuted any prior knowledge of LIBRA or participation in insider trading activities.
Ben Chow clarified that Meteora’s role was confined to providing ‘IT support,’ and expressed trust in Hayden Davis as a reliable token market maker and deployer.
“Hayden Davis from Kelsier Ventures is among the token deployers/market makers that have received project referrals from me over the past months. Our association with Kelsier was not exclusive or exceptional.”
Reports suggested that the Davis team was contemplating expansion into Nigeria and other nations, sparking further discontent within the community. Mert Mumtaz, the founder of Helius Labs, demanded severe legal action against the team.
“These individuals are utterly unknown to me, and their supposed ‘trustworthiness’ is baffling – and I consider myself well-versed in Solana. They should be incarcerated immediately, no exaggeration.”
The episode underscores the challenges faced by outsiders in navigating the Solana memecoin environment, particularly for those who are not swift traders.
At present, LIBRA is priced at $0.33, with a market cap of $338 million, marking a 92% decline from its peak valuation of $4.5 billion.