Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has argued that the collapse of Solana meme coin LIBRA is a teachable moment, taking it as “an example of why education is so important.”
In a tweet, Buterin said that, “The recent news should be taken not as a reason to give up,” emphasizing the importance of education in the crypto space.
Lauding Argentina’s community of “amazing builders, who have already contributed some of the most important software in the Ethereum ecosystem,” he added that, “I continue to be very optimistic about Argentina and Latam’s contributions and role in the space.”
In a follow-up tweet, Buterin suggested that Argentina could host Ethereum’s week-long Devconnect gathering, calling it, “a great opportunity to show the best of what crypto can offer.”
This isn’t the first time that Buterin has weighed in on meme coins.
In March 2024, he opined that they, “go up and down in price and contribute nothing of value in their wake,” arguing that the “financialized games” that underpin them should be repurposed to support public goods and charities.
The LIBRA crash
Argentina’s crypto community was left reeling by the launch and subsequent collapse of the LIBRA token, after the country’s President Javier Milei promoted the Solana-based meme coin in a (now-deleted) tweet.
According to a report by blockchain analytics firm Nansen, of over 15,000 wallets trading LIBRA, 86% of addresses recorded realized losses totaling $251 million, while 2,101 profitable wallets netted approximately $180 million between them—while just over a thousand remaining holders are sitting on unrealized losses of $11 million.
Recriminations have flown following LIBRA’s crash, with a judge assigned to investigate Milei on fraud charges, while the team behind the token have faced intense scrutiny over their role in the launch.
Solana exchanges and platforms have raced to distance themselves from the launch, while on-chain evidence has linked the entity behind the LIBRA launch to the failed launch of MELANIA, the meme coin promoted by U.S. First Lady Melania Trump. The co-founder of Meteora, the Solana-based platform behind the MELANIA token launch, resigned following insider trading allegations.
Edited by Stacy Elliott.
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