Ben Chow, co-founder of DeFi and meme coin platform Meteora, resigned on Monday after being accused of financial misconduct and insider trading tied to the controversial LIBRA meme coin.
This development came after growing concerns over his involvement in the project.
Chow Denies Involvement in Controversy
Meow, the pseudonymous co-founder of Jupiter, a decentralized exchange on Solana, as well as Meteora, announced Chow’s resignation on X. He expressed confidence in his partner’s character but cited his recent lack of judgment regarding their company’s core operations as the reason for his departure.
“While I am 100% confident about Ben’s character, as a project lead he has also shown a lack of judgement and care about some of the core aspects of the project,” Meow wrote. “And this is unfortunately unacceptable. Ben understands this, and has chosen to resign,” he added.
Meow also revealed plans to find new leadership for Meteora and to hire an independent firm, Fenwick West, to conduct an investigation and issue a report regarding the situation.
The LIBRA meme coin gained attention after Argentine President Javier Milei promoted it, causing its value to surge above $4. However, the price later dropped dramatically to under $0.5 after Milei deleted his post.
Its decline caused rumors of a rug pull, with accusations of market manipulation emerging. Reports claimed that insiders had cashed out over $100 million while regular buyers suffered substantial losses.
In a separate statement on X, Chow denied any personal involvement in the LIBRA project. He clarified that neither he nor the Meteora team had received any insider knowledge or tokens related to it.
“Neither I nor the Meteora team compromised the LIBRA launch by leaking information, nor did we purchase, receive, or manage any tokens,” he said.
Alleged Video Evidence
Amidst the rumors, a video surfaced online featuring an alleged conversation between Chow and Dhirk, the founder of DefiTuna.
In the video, Dhirk claims to have witnessed Hayden Davis, a key figure in the whole LIBRA debacle, and members of his company, Kelsier Ventures, engaging in insider trading during a trip to Barcelona.
The Meteora co-founder is seen denying any involvement in misconduct, expressing surprise and concern. At one point, he also says he regrets recommending Davis to other meme initiatives like MELANIA.
“I feel so sick because I gave him Melania,” Chow said. “I f****d up because I enabled the guy that should not have been enabled … I’m going to have to step down, I’m going to have to quit,” declared the distraught executive.
