Timeline | Argentine President 'Mints' a Coin, Behind-the-Scenes Team Cashes Out $100 Million in 4 Hours

At 6:00 AM this morning, Argentine President Javier Milei's official account announced the launch of the meme coin LIBRA and revealed the address. The price of LIBRA skyrocketed. Javier Milei, a presidential candidate who had once threatened to destroy the country's central bank, was officially elected as the President of Argentina on November 20, 2023. He is well-known in the crypto community because he is also a staunch supporter of Bitcoin, hoping to use Bitcoin to address Argentina's inflation issue. Related reading: "This 'Bitcoin Madman' Really Became the President of Argentina", "Forbes: Why Are Argentines Embracing Cryptocurrency?"

However, about 4 hours later, Javier Milei deleted the previous tweet and stated that he was unaware of the meme coin LIBRA that was released, causing the token's price to plummet. Subsequently, the team behind LIBRA responded, stating that President Milei was not involved in the development of the LIBRA project. Following Trump, another president has issued a coin. What is the real story behind this? How will the farce of politicians issuing coins end? BlockBeats will continue to monitor and provide real-time updates. The following is a timeline:

Solayer Founder: With over $2 million in losses on LIBRA, we will not sit idly by

At 12:54 PM, Solayer founder Chaofan Shou posted on social media that he and Solayer engineer @tonykebot suffered losses of over $2 million on LIBRA. The post included a list of core members of KIP Protocol, the team behind LIBRA, with the caption "Let's see what two hackers and a leisurely weekend can bring us."

LIBRA Team Response: President Milei was not involved in the development of the LIBRA project, thanks for your support and trust

At 11:36 AM, the Web3 AI infrastructure layer KIP Protocol posted on social media, stating that they have launched the ambitious Viva la Libertad project today, aimed at helping Argentina's private businesses. LIBRA has been successful, and they appreciate everyone's trust and support. It needs to be clarified that this is a private business project, and Argentine President Javier Milei has not been involved in the development of this project in the past or present; this is a completely private enterprise.

Reportedly, the Viva la Libertad project's official website indicates that the project is a private independent project developed by the KIP Protocol. (The leftmost figure in the image is KIP co-founder Julian, and the rightmost figure is President Milei, the photo was released in October 2024)

The LIBRA Team Behind the Scenes Has Successfully Cashed Out $107 Million

According to Lookonchain monitoring, 8 wallets associated with the LIBRA team have obtained a total of 57.6 million USDC and 249,671 SOL (equivalent to about $49.7 million) through liquidity addition, removal, and fee collection, with a total cash-out of approximately $107 million.

11:38 AM: Argentine President Denies Prior Knowledge of LIBRA and Lambasts Puppeteers

At 11:38 AM, Argentine President Javier Milei posted on social media, stating that a few hours ago, he tweeted, thinking it was just a casual show of support for a private entrepreneurial project unrelated to him as usual. He was not familiar with the details of the project and will definitely not spread the word after learning about it (which is also the reason for deleting the tweet). As for the dirty rats who want to take advantage of this situation to harm people, they confirm every day how despicable politicians can be, which further strengthens the belief in kicking you out.

Around 11:30 AM: Argentine President Deletes Related Tweets

Argentine President Javier Milei deletes earlier tweets related to LIBRA, triggering a price collapse.

10:00 AM: LIBRA Plunges Over 85% from its Peak, with $1.2 Billion in Trading Volume in 4 Hours

According to GMGN market data, the meme coin LIBRA, seemingly launched by Argentine President Javier Milei, has plummeted over 85% from its peak of $4.61 this morning. However, the market cap still stands at $600 million, with a total trading volume of $1.2 billion within 4 hours of trading.

6:00 AM: Argentine President's Official Account Shares Meme Coin LIBRA Address

On February 15, Argentine President Javier Milei announced the launch of the meme coin LIBRA through his official X account and disclosed the contract address, followed by a surge in LIBRA's price. Within 1 hour, Embers detected at least 3 insider trading addresses earning over $20 million each