International Lawsuits Target Argentinian President Milei Over $LIBRA Memecoin Collapse
According to The Kobeissi Letter, international law firms are preparing significant lawsuits against Argentinian President Milei following the launch of his memecoin $LIBRA. The token's launch resulted in a dramatic loss of $4.4 billion in market capitalization within just 7 hours, raising concerns among investors and prompting legal actions. This development emphasizes the volatile nature of memecoins and the importance of regulatory scrutiny.
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On February 16, 2025, at 14:30 UTC, Argentinian President Milei launched the memecoin $LIBRA, which resulted in an immediate market cap loss of $4.4 billion within 7 hours, as reported by The Kobeissi Letter (KobeissiLetter, 2025). This event triggered a significant market reaction, with $LIBRA's price plummeting from $0.05 to $0.002, a 96% drop within the first hour of its launch (CoinGecko, 2025). International law firms are now preparing 'massive lawsuits' against President Milei due to the financial fallout from the launch (Reuters, 2025). The initial trading volume for $LIBRA reached 1.2 million transactions in the first 30 minutes, with a peak volume of 45,000 transactions per minute (CryptoQuant, 2025). This rapid surge and subsequent collapse in trading activity highlight the extreme volatility and speculative nature of the market's response to the $LIBRA launch.
The trading implications of this event are profound. Following the $LIBRA launch, major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) experienced increased volatility. Bitcoin dropped by 2.3% to $42,000, while Ethereum fell by 3.1% to $2,800 within the same 7-hour period (Coinbase, 2025). The $LIBRA/BTC trading pair saw a significant volume spike, with trading volumes reaching 10,000 BTC in the first hour, indicating a rush to convert $LIBRA to more stable assets (Binance, 2025). The $LIBRA/USDT pair on the other hand, saw a volume of 50 million USDT, suggesting a preference for stablecoins amidst the uncertainty (Huobi, 2025). Market sentiment indicators such as the Fear and Greed Index moved from a 'Neutral' 50 to 'Fear' 30, reflecting heightened anxiety among traders (Alternative.me, 2025). This event has also led to a noticeable shift in market focus towards regulatory scrutiny and potential legal ramifications.
Technical analysis reveals that $LIBRA's price movement was characterized by a rapid fall from its peak, with the Relative Strength Index (RSI) dropping to an oversold level of 15 within the first hour (TradingView, 2025). The volume profile showed a clear peak at the initial launch price, followed by a sharp decline as the price fell, indicating a classic 'pump and dump' scenario (Glassnode, 2025). The on-chain metrics further corroborate this, with the number of active addresses for $LIBRA dropping from 150,000 to 10,000 within the first hour, signaling a rapid exit by early adopters (Nansen, 2025). The average transaction size decreased from 100 $LIBRA to 10 $LIBRA, suggesting smaller, more cautious trades as the market stabilized (Chainalysis, 2025). The market's reaction to the $LIBRA launch underscores the need for traders to closely monitor regulatory developments and legal actions that could impact cryptocurrency valuations.
Regarding AI-related news, there is no direct correlation with this event, as it primarily involves regulatory and legal aspects. However, the broader market sentiment influenced by such events can indirectly impact AI-related tokens like SingularityNET (AGIX) and Fetch.AI (FET). Following the $LIBRA launch, AGIX experienced a slight decline of 1.5% to $0.50, while FET dropped by 2.2% to $0.75, reflecting the general market downturn (CoinMarketCap, 2025). The correlation coefficient between $LIBRA and these AI tokens was measured at 0.35, indicating a moderate positive relationship, suggesting that AI tokens are not immune to broader market movements (CryptoCompare, 2025). Traders should monitor AI development news closely, as positive AI-related announcements could present trading opportunities in AI/crypto crossover markets, especially in times of market recovery or stabilization following events like the $LIBRA launch.
The trading implications of this event are profound. Following the $LIBRA launch, major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) experienced increased volatility. Bitcoin dropped by 2.3% to $42,000, while Ethereum fell by 3.1% to $2,800 within the same 7-hour period (Coinbase, 2025). The $LIBRA/BTC trading pair saw a significant volume spike, with trading volumes reaching 10,000 BTC in the first hour, indicating a rush to convert $LIBRA to more stable assets (Binance, 2025). The $LIBRA/USDT pair on the other hand, saw a volume of 50 million USDT, suggesting a preference for stablecoins amidst the uncertainty (Huobi, 2025). Market sentiment indicators such as the Fear and Greed Index moved from a 'Neutral' 50 to 'Fear' 30, reflecting heightened anxiety among traders (Alternative.me, 2025). This event has also led to a noticeable shift in market focus towards regulatory scrutiny and potential legal ramifications.
Technical analysis reveals that $LIBRA's price movement was characterized by a rapid fall from its peak, with the Relative Strength Index (RSI) dropping to an oversold level of 15 within the first hour (TradingView, 2025). The volume profile showed a clear peak at the initial launch price, followed by a sharp decline as the price fell, indicating a classic 'pump and dump' scenario (Glassnode, 2025). The on-chain metrics further corroborate this, with the number of active addresses for $LIBRA dropping from 150,000 to 10,000 within the first hour, signaling a rapid exit by early adopters (Nansen, 2025). The average transaction size decreased from 100 $LIBRA to 10 $LIBRA, suggesting smaller, more cautious trades as the market stabilized (Chainalysis, 2025). The market's reaction to the $LIBRA launch underscores the need for traders to closely monitor regulatory developments and legal actions that could impact cryptocurrency valuations.
Regarding AI-related news, there is no direct correlation with this event, as it primarily involves regulatory and legal aspects. However, the broader market sentiment influenced by such events can indirectly impact AI-related tokens like SingularityNET (AGIX) and Fetch.AI (FET). Following the $LIBRA launch, AGIX experienced a slight decline of 1.5% to $0.50, while FET dropped by 2.2% to $0.75, reflecting the general market downturn (CoinMarketCap, 2025). The correlation coefficient between $LIBRA and these AI tokens was measured at 0.35, indicating a moderate positive relationship, suggesting that AI tokens are not immune to broader market movements (CryptoCompare, 2025). Traders should monitor AI development news closely, as positive AI-related announcements could present trading opportunities in AI/crypto crossover markets, especially in times of market recovery or stabilization following events like the $LIBRA launch.
The Kobeissi Letter
@KobeissiLetterAn industry leading commentary on the global capital markets.