Title: Argentine President’s Retracted Tweet Causes Memecoin Market Frenzy
In a dramatic turn of events, Argentine President Javier Milei rescinded his endorsement of a digital currency known as Libra. Initially, his backing led to a significant increase in Libra’s market capitalization, which soared to an impressive $4.4 billion. Yet, a sudden plunge of over 95% followed this peak, creating a ripple effect in the memecoin market.
Milei’s endorsement came in the form of a tweet, which has since been deleted. He described Libra as a private initiative aimed at fostering Argentina’s economic expansion. This message was accompanied by a Solana contract address associated with the Libra token.
The impact of the presidential endorsement was immediate. Libra’s value skyrocketed by more than 2000% within a short 40-minute span post-tweet. However, the euphoria was short-lived, as early holders began to liquidate their assets, leading to a rapid drop in Libra’s value.
Screenshots shared by user KobeissiLetter on platform X revealed alleged “insiders” offloading tokens. They reportedly used a strategy involving the creation of one-sided liquidity pools on Metora using only Libra. This move enabled them to extract SOL and stablecoins.
Notably, Libra’s trading volume hit the $1.1 billion mark following its launch. However, a closer look at the trading patterns revealed a discrepancy. There were 74,500 individual buy orders compared to 28,900 sales, suggesting that large-scale sell orders overwhelmed the surge in retail activity.
President Milei later addressed the Libra fiasco on platform X. He admitted to having limited knowledge about the project’s details. A translated tweet from Milei reads, “A few hours ago, I tweeted my support for what I believed to be a private venture. I have no association with this project and was unaware of its specifics. After learning more, I decided not to continue promoting it, hence why I deleted the tweet.”
The repercussions of the Libra sell-off were felt across the wider memecoin sphere. Digital currency TRUMP reportedly lost $500 million in market capitalization within a 30-minute span following Libra’s decline, according to market data.
For those interested in digital currency investments, this incident serves as a reminder of the volatility inherent in the memecoin market. The influence of high-profile individuals on market dynamics can lead to rapid fluctuations in value, underscoring the need for careful due diligence.
