Meteora Co-Founder Resigns On Heels Of Solana Meme Coin, Libra Controversy

Ben Chow, co-founder of Meteora, has stepped down from his role following scrutiny over the botched launch of the Libra (CRYPTO: LIBRA) token, a Solana (CRYPTO: SOL)-based meme coin.

Meow, the pseudonymous co-founder of both Meteora and Jupiter (CRYPTO: JUP), announced that neither he nor anyone at either project had benefited financially from the token.

“No one at Jupiter or Meteora committed any insider trading or financial wrongdoing, or received any tokens inappropriately,” Meow said in a statement on X.

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Meteora has hired the law firm Fenwick & West to conduct an independent investigation and release a public report.

Meow stood by Chow's integrity but cited concerns about his leadership in recent months, adding: “As a project lead, he has shown a lack of judgment and care about some of the core aspects of the project.”

Chow acknowledged the issues and voluntarily stepped down, with Meteora now searching for new leadership, according to the statement.

The resignation comes amid a wider controversy surrounding the Libra token.y Argentina's President Javier Milei as a tool to support small businesses.

Following Milei's endorsement, the token's value surged to a $4.5 billion market cap before crashing 90 percent within days. It wiped out billions of dollars in investor wealth.

The fallout has triggered impeachment calls against the president. Opposition leader Esteban Paulon is leading efforts to investigate Milei's alleged ties to the token's launch.

Meteora's role in the LIBRA launch has been under scrutiny. Chow has denied any wrongdoing.

“Neither I nor the Meteora team compromised the LIBRA launch by leaking information, nor did we purchase, receive, or manage any tokens,” Chow stated.

He explained that Meteora merely provided IT support for the token's liquidity setup and did not directly handle its deployment.

The LIBRA debacle has had broader implications for the Solana ecosystem, with SOL's price dropping sharply against both the US dollar and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH).

The influx of speculative meme coins, fueled by low barriers to token creation, has fragmented liquidity and diminished interest in established altcoins.

Official Trump, a meme coin launched by President Donald Trump, is currently down over 78% from its all-time high a month ago.

What's Next For Meteora?

Meow insists that Jupiter maintains strict transparency standards and token integrity across the crypto ecosystem.

“The way to grow the industry is not simply via more tokens but to have projects that have the same level of token certainty, long-term alignment, and extreme transparency,” he said.

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