Insider Trading Exposed: How High-Frequency Traders Pocket Millions in LIBRA’s Short-Lived Boom

Nansen Research has analyzed the events following the launch of LIBRA, a controversial token initially promoted by Argentina’s President Javier Milei.  On February 14, 2025, Milei publicly endorsed LIBRA, framing it as a means to support small businesses in Argentina. Following his endorsement, the token quickly surged in value, reaching a peak valuation of $4.5 billion. Nansen highlights that the token was minted at 21:38 UTC, and by 22:01 UTC, Milei’s tweet had sparked widespread interest.  Early buyers, including algorithmic traders and high-frequency snipers, entered the market, accelerating the token’s rapid price increase. By 22:44 UTC, LIBRA had reached a high of $4.55 before experiencing an immediate decline.  Later, Hayden Davis, who was involved in the project, dismissed LIBRA as a meme coin, contradicting the earlier narrative. Subsequently, Milei deleted his endorsement tweet after the token price had dropped by 80%. His later statement distanced himself from the project, claiming he had no prior knowledge of its details. Insider Trading Evidence Onchain data revealed significant financial losses for many traders. By February 18, the number of unique holders had dropped from 50,700 to 35,770. Among the wallets that experienced a gain or loss exceeding $1,000, approximately 86.07% recorded losses totaling $251 million. Meanwhile, only 2,101 wallets secured profits, accumulating approximately $180 million. Several high-frequency trading wallets showed signs of insider trading. Two wallets that purchased LIBRA at 22:01 UTC and exited by 22:44 UTC realized gains of $5.4 million, with one wallet profiting $5.1 million alone. Another wallet, HyzGo2, was among the most successful, indicating strategic early buying and selling behavior. Conversely, some wallets, including XRfKhaCA, lost significant sums, with XRfKhaCA losing $407,000 from an initial investment of $6.5 million. Other wallets displayed links to prominent traders and possible insider knowledge. The address dysphoria.sol gained $341,000 from LIBRA and had prior profits from tokens such as TRUMP and MELANIA. Additionally, blockchain interactions indicated that traders associated with the same Bybit hot wallet executed transactions in a coordinated manner. This further raised concerns about insider involvement. Continued Trading Despite Controversy Despite the token’s initial collapse, some wallets continued trading LIBRA beyond February 15. A notable price movement occurred on February 17, when Milei reshared a tweet stating that LIBRA was not easily accessible to retail investors. The price briefly surged by 125% before retracing within 24 hours. However, between February 16 and 18, around 70% of active wallets still recorded losses. Further analysis indicated significant unrealized losses. Around 1,001 wallets held the token with unrealized losses amounting to $11 million, while only 71 wallets maintained unrealized gains of $0.54 million. Specifically, a crypto whale suffered losses totaling $2.78 million across two separate trades. Three days prior, the trader spent 17,450 SOL ($3.25 million) to acquire LIBRA but later sold for just 3,200 $SOL ($595,000), incurring a $2.65 million loss. In a previous attempt, the same trader lost $1.76 million on LIBRA. Meanwhile, another trader saw a net profit of $7.32 million from TRUMP but took losses of $617,000 due to MELANIA and an additional $1.76 million from LIBRA. In response to the turmoil surrounding LIBRA, Binance founder CZ donated 150 BNB ($100,000) to assist affected users. Shortly after, an entity behind the newly created token "Broccoli" liquidated its holdings and transferred the same amount—150 BNB ($100,000)—to CZ’s wallet. https://twitter.com/lookonchain/status/1891829911981261060   Profitable Snipers Per Nansen, one sniper profited $6.5 million, with blockchain data linking the wallet’s funding source to Bybit and multiple trading bots. Another significant player, 8bZsrR, appeared to generate $25 million in profits. Still, additional transaction analysis showed that this figure included token transfers to seven separate wallets, some of which exited at a loss. The situation also impacted the broader crypto market. The LIBRA collapse coincided with a decline in Solana’s total value locked (TVL), dropping from $12.1 billion to $8.29 billion, as traders reassessed the risk of speculative tokens.