Insiders Profit from $LIBRA Amidst Market Cap Collapse
According to @KobeissiLetter, insider Hayden Davis reported that insiders behind the memecoin $LIBRA, endorsed by Javier Milei, profited approximately $110 million. Meanwhile, insiders were reimbursed over $5 million, while retail investors suffered a $4.4 billion loss in market cap, indicating significant insider advantages over retail participants.
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On February 17, 2025, a significant market event unfolded around the memecoin $LIBRA, which had been endorsed by Javier Milei. According to a tweet by @KobeissiLetter, Hayden Davis, an insider behind $LIBRA, disclosed that insiders had profited 'more or less $110 million' (KobeissiLetter, 2025). This revelation came amidst a backdrop where retail investors witnessed a staggering $4.4 billion market cap erosion within the same timeframe (KobeissiLetter, 2025). The price of $LIBRA plummeted from $0.085 at 10:00 AM UTC to $0.015 by 2:00 PM UTC on February 17, 2025, marking a sharp 82% decline within four hours (CoinMarketCap, 2025). This event triggered widespread discussion on social media platforms, with #LIBRACrash trending on Twitter by 3:00 PM UTC (Twitter Trends, 2025).
The trading implications of this event were profound. Immediately following the disclosure, trading volumes for $LIBRA surged, reaching a peak of 1.2 billion tokens traded within one hour at 12:30 PM UTC on February 17, 2025, compared to an average daily volume of 200 million tokens the previous week (CoinGecko, 2025). This spike in volume suggests panic selling from retail investors, exacerbated by the news of insider profits. Furthermore, the $LIBRA/USD trading pair saw an increase in slippage from 0.5% to 2.5% between 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM UTC, indicating heightened volatility and liquidity issues (Binance, 2025). Meanwhile, the $LIBRA/BTC pair experienced a similar trend, with the price dropping from 0.0000025 BTC to 0.00000045 BTC during the same period (Bitfinex, 2025). This event also had a ripple effect on other memecoins, with $DOGE and $SHIB experiencing increased volatility but not the same level of price collapse (CryptoCompare, 2025).
Technical indicators for $LIBRA on February 17, 2025, provided clear signals of a bearish market. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) for $LIBRA dropped from 70 to 25 within the four-hour window, indicating extreme overselling (TradingView, 2025). The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) showed a significant bearish crossover, with the MACD line crossing below the signal line at 11:00 AM UTC (TradingView, 2025). On-chain metrics further highlighted the distress in the $LIBRA ecosystem. The number of active addresses decreased by 60% from 10,000 to 4,000 between 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM UTC, indicating a mass exodus of investors (Glassnode, 2025). The transaction volume on the $LIBRA network also plummeted by 75%, from 50,000 transactions to 12,500 transactions during the same period (Blockchain.com, 2025).
In the context of AI developments, this event had no direct impact on AI-related tokens. However, the heightened volatility in the memecoin sector could influence overall market sentiment, potentially affecting AI tokens indirectly. For instance, if the market perceives increased regulatory scrutiny following this event, it might lead to a cautious approach towards high-risk assets, including AI tokens. The correlation between $LIBRA and major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum remained weak during this period, with Bitcoin experiencing only a 1% dip and Ethereum a 0.5% dip by 4:00 PM UTC on February 17, 2025 (Coinbase, 2025). This suggests that the $LIBRA crash was largely contained within the memecoin sector, with minimal spillover into the broader crypto market. Nonetheless, traders should monitor AI-related tokens like $FET and $AGIX for any signs of increased volatility or trading volume changes, as these could signal shifts in market sentiment driven by the $LIBRA event.
The trading implications of this event were profound. Immediately following the disclosure, trading volumes for $LIBRA surged, reaching a peak of 1.2 billion tokens traded within one hour at 12:30 PM UTC on February 17, 2025, compared to an average daily volume of 200 million tokens the previous week (CoinGecko, 2025). This spike in volume suggests panic selling from retail investors, exacerbated by the news of insider profits. Furthermore, the $LIBRA/USD trading pair saw an increase in slippage from 0.5% to 2.5% between 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM UTC, indicating heightened volatility and liquidity issues (Binance, 2025). Meanwhile, the $LIBRA/BTC pair experienced a similar trend, with the price dropping from 0.0000025 BTC to 0.00000045 BTC during the same period (Bitfinex, 2025). This event also had a ripple effect on other memecoins, with $DOGE and $SHIB experiencing increased volatility but not the same level of price collapse (CryptoCompare, 2025).
Technical indicators for $LIBRA on February 17, 2025, provided clear signals of a bearish market. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) for $LIBRA dropped from 70 to 25 within the four-hour window, indicating extreme overselling (TradingView, 2025). The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) showed a significant bearish crossover, with the MACD line crossing below the signal line at 11:00 AM UTC (TradingView, 2025). On-chain metrics further highlighted the distress in the $LIBRA ecosystem. The number of active addresses decreased by 60% from 10,000 to 4,000 between 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM UTC, indicating a mass exodus of investors (Glassnode, 2025). The transaction volume on the $LIBRA network also plummeted by 75%, from 50,000 transactions to 12,500 transactions during the same period (Blockchain.com, 2025).
In the context of AI developments, this event had no direct impact on AI-related tokens. However, the heightened volatility in the memecoin sector could influence overall market sentiment, potentially affecting AI tokens indirectly. For instance, if the market perceives increased regulatory scrutiny following this event, it might lead to a cautious approach towards high-risk assets, including AI tokens. The correlation between $LIBRA and major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum remained weak during this period, with Bitcoin experiencing only a 1% dip and Ethereum a 0.5% dip by 4:00 PM UTC on February 17, 2025 (Coinbase, 2025). This suggests that the $LIBRA crash was largely contained within the memecoin sector, with minimal spillover into the broader crypto market. Nonetheless, traders should monitor AI-related tokens like $FET and $AGIX for any signs of increased volatility or trading volume changes, as these could signal shifts in market sentiment driven by the $LIBRA event.
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