The Controversial World of Memecoins: Kelsier’s LIBRA and MELANIA Tokens
Hayden Davis, the CEO of Kelsier, is at the center of controversy following the launch of the LIBRA memecoin, which has garnered significant attention in the cryptocurrency community. Davis has also revealed his involvement in the MELANIA memecoin, claiming that his team employed sniping tactics for both tokens immediately after their smart contract addresses went live.
LIBRA was introduced to the public on a Friday and quickly caught the eye of Argentina’s President, Javier Milei, who, in a now-deleted tweet, expressed support for the token, suggesting that it would aid small and mid-sized enterprises in Argentina. However, after Milei distanced himself from the project, the value of LIBRA experienced a staggering 95% decline.
Sniping refers to the practice where individuals use automated bots to purchase memecoins within seconds of the launch of the smart contract. Typically, wallets that engage in sniping end up reaping the majority of the profits. In an interview with crypto investigator Coffeezilla, Davis insisted that LIBRA was “not a rug pull.” He described the situation as “a plan gone miserably wrong,” revealing that there is currently $100 million held in an account for which he is the custodian.
Profit from MELANIA Liquidity
This isn’t the first venture into the memecoin market for Davis. He previously played a role in launching the MELANIA memecoin, which is associated with U.S. First Lady Melania Trump. When asked about his involvement with MELANIA, Davis responded candidly, acknowledging, “I’m happy to share the truth. You’re asking a question that’s going to put me in a lot of danger, but I’ll answer it.” He admitted that while his team did consider sniping MELANIA due to the significant gains from the Trump-themed memecoin, they did not profit from it. “We definitely weren’t the big sniper. There was no money made from the MELANIA team; we didn’t take any liquidity out, zero,” he stated.
However, Davis’s statements appeared to contradict on-chain data when he mentioned, “We didn’t swap liquidity [but] I didn’t say there was no money sold. There’s a difference between swapping liquidity and selling liquidations.” Currently, MELANIA is trading with a market capitalization of $625 million, having debuted at an impressive $2.1 billion on January 20.
Refunds Raised Eyebrows
The unfolding drama surrounding LIBRA took another twist when Davis issued a $5 million refund to Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, who had incurred losses from his investment in LIBRA. In his discussion with Coffeezilla, Portnoy revealed that he had been aware of the project for weeks prior to its official launch and had purchased tokens merely 10 minutes after Milei’s tweet. The fact that Portnoy was privy to information about LIBRA ahead of its public debut, coupled with his reimbursement, has led to allegations of insider trading. Nevertheless, Davis dismissed these claims, arguing, “The idea of insiders is always bullshit because every memecoin I’ve ever known or invested in or been a part of, the people that benefit are the people that know… people that structure the deal.”
Davis further elaborated, stating, “[It’s] similar to any other business in the world. So I think that’s a bit of bullshit and that’s just crypto people that are angry because there’s an unfair advantage.” As of the time of publication, CoinDesk reached out to both Davis and Portnoy for further comment but had not received a response.
