Libra—a Solana-based meme coin initially endorsed by Argentina President Javier Milei—came crashing down barely hours after hitting the $4.5 billion market cap threshold.
In a now-deleted post on X, Milei had promoted LIBRA, linking it to the Viva La Libertad project purportedly established to boost the Argentine economy through funding for small businesses.
This post ignited the initial buying frenzy around the meme coin and pushed its market cap above $4 billion within hours of its launch.
However, due to suspicious fund movements and the centralized control of its tokenomics, questions regarding the legitimacy of LIBRA began to gain ground.
Amid growing skepticism, LIBRA took a brutal hit, losing almost 90% of its value in a jiffy. Adding to the woes was Milei’s retraction of his endorsement for the Solana-based meme coin, sparking alarm in the crypto community.
At the time of writing, LIBRA’s market cap has plunged below $400 million, with the token trading around $0.36. What’s next for this token?
Is LIBRA Another Pump & Dump Scheme?
The official website of the Viva La Libertad Project describes LIBRA as the symbol of a movement created to stimulate the “Argentine economy from the ground up by supporting entrepreneurship and innovation.”
Through the token, the project team highlighted plans to channel funding effectively and in a decentralized manner so that investors and citizens can contribute to the country’s growth.
LIBRA went live on Friday, February 14, 2025, and was publicly endorsed by Milei the same day. That initially encouraged traders to buy the token in droves and pushed the price by almost 3000% to a peak of $4.5 within hours.
In fact, at the peak of its market activity, LIBRA’s market cap crossed the $4 billion market cap benchmark, joining the likes of TRUMP and MELANIA on the list of the fastest meme coins to achieve such a feat.
However, LIBRA’s impressive price run was short-lived as insiders and whales started cashing out on the token, fueling allegations of a pump-and-dump scheme. According to an onchain intelligence firm Lookonchain, not less than eight wallets linked to the LIBRA team have already siphoned liquidity from the token, cashing out over $107 million.
Another pronounced red flag—which was even raised by other blockchain data firms before the downward spiral—pointed out the centralized nature of the token supply. Analyses from Bubblemaps, for instance, showed that 82% of the token’s supply is controlled by a few whales and insiders.
As the whales began withdrawing from the liquidity pools, the LIBRA price crashed, leaving the retail investors to bear the brunt of the catastrophe. The collapse forced Milei to immediately delete his endorsement, blaming his opponents for trying to politicize the situation.
The president said he had unknowingly backed what he thought was a private enterprise and has decided to stop promoting it after learning more details. That retraction further worsened LIBRA’s downward spiral, plummeting its price below $0.4.
Now that millions of dollars have been lost to the crash, members of the crypto community have started raising concerns about the involvement of big players and platforms in potential rug pulls.
In the case of LIBRA for instance, Beanie—a popular crypto trader and commentator—reflected on how Moonshot initially listed the token, only to delist after insiders pocketed $100 million from the liquidity pools.
More so, influential names like WazzCrypto have criticized the token’s launch model, linking it to similar meme coins like $TRUMP and $MELANIA. In fact, in a recent post on X, WazzCrypto said it was possible that the same team that launched MELANIA and TRUMP developed $LIBRA or the latter used similar modus operandi adopted by the former.
Meanwhile, this is not the first time that president Milei will be involved in an alleged rug pull scandal. In 2021, he was accused of promoting CoinX—a crypto project that promised big rewards to investors but failed to deliver. Those who suffered losses during the incident sued him for his role in promoting the scheme.
LIBRA Price Prediction – Short-Term
Within 24 hours of its launch, Libra experienced dramatic price swings, which prompted allegations of a potential rug pull. The price initially saw a parabolic pump to hit $4, fueled by strong buying pressure and Milei’s now-deleted endorsement post.
Following this price increase was a heavy correction, caused by aggressive sell-offs from insider wallets. While the token’s value has stabilized around $0.3, a zoomed-out look at the technicals shows that its RSI is currently fluctuating between 15-17, indicating that sellers are still in control.
If the selling frenzy persists—which is most likely—LIBRA could even experience more downward movement in the coming days, potentially settling around $0.09.
LIBRA Price Prediction – Long-Term
The manner in which LIBRA was launched and the ensuing controversy around its centralized tokenomics, has made many to be skeptical about its future. Hence, the possibility of the token fading into obscurity is quite high.
Besides, some notable names in the industry are already calling for the prosecution of those involved in promoting the project.
In fact, according to Reuters, Milei could face an impeachment trial in Congress due to his involvement in the alleged rug pull.
As the call for an investigation into the crash continues to dominate the airspace, LIBRA could see consistent downswings, potentially setting new all-time lows.
Meme Index – A Legitimate Alternative To LIBRA Token
Considering the suspicious trading activities involving the LIBRA’s team and the eventual price crash, it could be considered among the riskiest meme coins to buy now. As such, those seeking a more legitimate alternative with a novel unique value proposition and community-centric posture may check out Meme Index.
Described as the world’s first decentralized meme coin index, Meme Index is a new project designed to provide structured exposure to the volatile yet rewarding meme coin market.
There are too many meme coins on the market already, which makes it difficult for investors to find high-potential projects right from the start. In fact, retail investors often end up getting on the wrong coins, given the fact that they don’t have enough capital to build a diversified portfolio.
Meme Index addresses this challenge head-on, offering a more strategic way to navigate the market. Rather than gambling on individual meme coins, the project makes it possible for investors to bet on multiple tokens that complement their risk-taking appetite in one go.
It will soon launch its four baskets that will categorize all meme coin assets based on the degree of their volatility. The first one, Titan Index, is for large-cap meme assets like Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, and Pepe.
Next is the Moonshot Index, containing mid-range meme coin plays, especially the ones that are close to reaching the $1 billion market cap threshold.
The Midcap Index contains meme coins that are between $50 million and $250 million market cap, making it a suitable option for those who do not mind a bit of risk. And finally, the Frenzy Index is for those eyeing life-changing returns through extremely volatile meme coins.
Unlike traditional indices that rely on technical indicators, meme coins added into each of the four baskets will be based on community feedback, underscoring the project’s decentralized posture.
This format provides a balanced way for investors to strategically engage with the meme coin sector, minimize their risks, and maximize their profits. For those seeking passive income opportunities, Meme Index’s built-in staking system is already in full swing, offering a three-digit APY reward to presale buyers.
Crucially, Meme Index has undergone two third-party audits from SolidProof and Coinsult, solidifying its market position as a credible investment option for degen investors. The audit reports, which found no centralization risks in its smart contract, further reassure investors that the project team cannot mint new tokens, blacklist addresses, set any sell fees, and many more.
Moreover, unlike LIBRA which has 82% of its total supply in an insider wallet, Meme Index has embraced a tokenomics structure that places its future in the hands of the community.
The token’s supply is distributed across core aspects of the projects such as presale, community rewards, staking, treasury and governance, and marketing. No allocation was reserved for the team, reinforcing Meme Index’s community-centric posture.
The combination of these factors has helped the project to raise over $3.6 million within a short timeframe.
Several crypto publications such as Cointelegraph and Bitcoinist have extensively analyzed the importance of Meme Index’s offerings to the fast-evolving meme coin space. YouTubers like CryptoZeus are already bullish on this project, stating that it could become one of the biggest meme coins on the market.
