Ben Chow, who was instrumental in starting Solana’s decentralized platforms Jupiter and Meteora, has left his position at Meteora. amid allegations the insider trading allegations and misconduct connected to the Libra meme token's failure.
News of his resignation was announced on X (previously known as Twitter) by Meow, Ben’s co-founder at Jupiter, on Monday evening.
Memecoin Madness!
Meow pointed out that Meteora has been operating independently of Jupiter for over a year, under Ben’s leadership. He acknowledged Ben’s role in guiding Meteora to become a trailblazing DEX with strong community backing.
A pivotal player in the Solana ecosystem expressed support for Ben, but despite believing in Ben’s integrity, Meow admitted that Ben's recent focus and contributions fell short, especially considering the project's scale and stature, leading to his resignation as Meteora seeks new leadership.
Meow’s statement reiterated that neither Jupiter nor Meteora engaged in any form of insider trading, financial misconduct, or improper token allocations. To further ensure transparency and address community concerns, Meow announced the engagement of law firm Fenwick & West to conduct a thorough investigation and publish their findings.
Hello, I’m Meow from Jupiter and also a cofounder of Meteora.
I want to emphasize my trust that no insider trading, financial wrongdoings, or improper token handling took place at either Jupiter or Meteora.
Additionally, we are in the process of hiring an independent third party...
— meow (🐱, 🐐) (@weremeow) February 18, 2025
Regarding Jupiter, Meow reiterated the platform's dedication to clear token operations and its commitment to channeling a significant portion of profits back into the Solana ecosystem. Jupiter’s management clarified that they have never traded JUP tokens and rarely dabble in meme coins.
Meow ended with an apology to their community and the ecosystem at large.
He described the situation as a transformative point and outlined his aspirations to develop permissionless solutions, build Jupnet, and establish elevated standards for token accountability and clarity within the industry.
The Libra Fallout
Launched on Feb. 14 and promoted by Milei Following its launch as an initiative to aid small enterprises and drive economic progress, the LIBRA token saw its valuation skyrocket to $4.5 billion shortly after unveiling, but the surge was ephemeral as the token plummeted significantly on its debut.
Observers have branded this scenario as a potential 'rug pull' scam, where early investors inflate the price only to dump their holdings. Milei faces allegations of fraud as he was implicated in a fraudulent scheme that deceived investors.
The scandal has fueled impeachment demands from opposition members who argue that Milei's conduct amounted to major misconduct.
Both Jupiter and Meteora have been subjected to increasing scrutiny from the crypto community over their alleged involvement in the downfall of the Libra coin. Many in the crypto space have accused these DEXs, as well as other notable crypto personalities, of being complicit in insider trading and sniping.
Jupiter and Meteora vehemently denied any involvement in manipulating the LIBRA meme coin's price. On February 16, Jupiter emphasized their commitment to transparency, especially concerning meme coin transactions, and asserted they had no involvement in LIBRA's erratic price movements.
Jupiter detailed that some of its members became aware of the project linked to President Milei just a couple of weeks earlier, initially harboring doubts until Milei himself tweeted about it. However, Jupiter maintains that they were unaware of any arrangements between Milei, Kelsier Ventures, the token assembly, or market makers, assuring that they didn't partake in any LIBRA trades.
In addressing criticisms about fast-tracking LIBRA’s verification, Jupiter clarified that they don't engage in instantaneous verifications.
LIBRA’s market cap was substantial by the time it reached their “Strict List,” and the “Verified” badge in their search system was only applied once there was adequate liquidity and community backing. They noted that verification didn’t serve as an endorsement, but rather a measure to shield users amidst a flurry of fake tokens that emerged around LIBRA’s release.
According to Jupiter, Ben from Meteora said he received the contract address only minutes before the launch, solely for verification purposes, and didn’t share it with Jupiter until it became public. Chow released a statement emphasizing that both he and Meteora were not engaged in LIBRA’s sales or marketing, only asked for technical assistance at launch.
More Details Surface
Ben’s exit and Meow’s announcement coincide with new revelations about the scheming behind the Libra token's launch.
A clip shared by SolanaFloor shows that Dhirk, founder of DefiTuna, informed Ben of Hayden Davis’s alleged wrongdoing in meme coin launches, including witnessing Kelsier members' sniping activities. Davis leads Kelsier Ventures, which is central to the Libra controversy.
Even though Ben denied any involvement and announced his intention to step aside, he was observed by many to have been aware of Hayden's scheme ahead of time but chose to remain silent about it.
