LIBRA Memecoin Crash Wipes Out $251M in Investor Wealth, Data Shows
On-chain analysis by Nansen reveals that 86% of traders suffered losses, totaling $251 million.
The recent LIBRA memecoin debacle in Argentina wiped out millions in investor wealth, according to research conducted by blockchain analytics firm Nansen.
Data tracked by Nansen indicates that 86% of traders incurred losses amounting to $251 million, while only a fraction managed to secure $180 million in profits. This made LIBRA a “net-negative wealth-generating” event, draining liquidity from the market rather than creating sustained value.
The incident underscores the risks associated with politically affiliated tokens, which can be just as volatile and unpredictable as celebrity-backed cryptocurrencies and random memecoins, often resulting in massive financial swings within minutes.
LIBRA launched on the Solana-based decentralized exchange Meteora last Friday and briefly soared to a market capitalization exceeding $4.5 billion after Argentina’s President Javier Milei endorsed the project on X, stating that its mission was to “support the Argentine economy, fund small businesses, and drive local ventures.”
More than 40,000 crypto wallets flocked to the token, fueling a rapid price surge. However, the euphoria was short-lived. A market collapse followed as insiders dumped massive amounts of tokens, wiping out 90% of LIBRA’s market cap.
Political Fallout and Investor Backlash
The controversy escalated when Milei deleted his X post, later stating that he had been “unaware of the project’s details” and, after gaining further insight, decided to distance himself from it. By then, however, the damage was already done.
Argentina’s opposition labeled the fiasco a national embarrassment and even threatened impeachment proceedings against Milei.
“70% of wallets trading $LIBRA between February 16 and 18 ended with realized losses, likely as traders attempted to capitalize on Javier Milei’s retweet,” Nansen noted in a report shared with CoinDesk.
Further analysis showed that the number of unique holders of LIBRA plummeted from over 50,000 on February 14 to just 35,770 by February 18. Meanwhile, two wallets that bought the token at 22:01 UTC and sold by 22:44 UTC on February 14 netted a staggering $5.4 million in profits, underscoring the dramatic wealth redistribution caused by the event.
