KIP Protocol Takes Responsibility for Involvement in Milei-Endorsed LIBRA Project
KIP Protocol, a Web3 startup specializing in AI-driven payment infrastructure, has announced its involvement in the beleaguered LIBRA token project endorsed by Argentine President Javier Milei. The token lost over 95% of its value within hours of its launch.
KIP Protocol CEO and co-founder Julian Peh clarified in a Feb. 15 X space that the company was hired as a tech consultancy to distribute project funds to Argentine companies. Peh clarified that KIP Protocol neither created the token nor acted as its market maker.
In a separate X post, Peh also assured that Project Libertad, the broader project under which LIBRA is attached, would continue to support Argentine businesses despite the token collapse.
Concerns Regarding LIBRA Token and Authenticity
LIBRA gained momentum after President Milei pinned a now-deleted approval of the project on his X profile for a few hours. Investors initially suspected a social media hack, but the project achieved legitimacy when Argentine politicians re-posted the notice.
Milei later revoked his endorsement, claiming he did not have any knowledge about the project. Transparency and rollout of the project have since raised concerns among analysts.
Red Flags Raised by Analysts
The Kobeissi Letter, a financial newsletter, discovered that the project’s website linked to a generic Google Form as a platform for companies to apply for funding. The domain was also registered a few hours prior to the token launch and for only one year.
“There is no public owner information, and multiple restricted domain statuses,” the Kobeissi Letter noted, questioning whether the project was hastily assembled overnight.
Onchain Data Raises More Doubts
Blockchain analytics firm Bubblemaps revealed that 50% of LIBRA’s token supply is held in a single wallet. Additionally, 82% of the supply remains unlocked, meaning tokens could be sold at any time.
Bubblemaps compared LIBRA to TRUMP memecoin, which also has a lock-up period for portions of its supply. The TRUMP token has also generated political and legal concerns regarding the utilization of crypto as a potential bribery conduit.
With LIBRA crashing spectacularly and still under fire, the project’s future is now uncertain, and investors are left questioning its legitimacy and purpose.
