{"investigation":{"slug":"meteora","entity_name":"Meteora","trust_score":22,"severity_base":null,"score_modifier":6,"confidence":0.82,"status":"published","content_type":"investigation","summary":"Meteora is a Solana-based decentralized exchange and liquidity protocol, rebranded from Mercurial Finance in 2023, that remains one of Solana's most active DEXs. Meteora and its former CEO Benjamin Chow, who resigned in February 2025 during the LIBRA scandal, were sued alongside Kelsier Ventures and the Davis family in federal class actions in the Southern District of New York. The suits alleged that Meteora's launch infrastructure was used in coordinated pump-and-dump schemes across at least 15 tokens, including M3M3, LIBRA and MELANIA, with at least $69 million in alleged M3M3 losses alone. The Clarke/Vogt M3M3 suit was voluntarily dismissed in July 2025, and on September 29, 2026 Judge Jennifer L. Rochon granted the motions to dismiss in Hurlock v. Kelsier, dismissing the amended complaint with prejudice and denying leave to amend. The ruling addressed the sufficiency of the pleadings; the judge did not find whether the alleged conduct did or did not happen, and all allegations remain unproven. Meteora's October 2025 MET token airdrop drew further criticism over concentrated whale allocations and multi-million-dollar distributions to Trump- and MELANIA-linked wallets.","sections":[{"content":"Meteora is a decentralized exchange and automated market maker on Solana. It began as Mercurial Finance, a stablecoin-focused DEX launched in 2021 that raised $3.5 million in seed funding from DeFiance Capital, Huobi Ventures (also described as HTX Ventures) and Signum Capital. After the November 2022 FTX collapse disrupted the Solana ecosystem, the team restructured and relaunched as Meteora in early 2023, with one account giving February 2023. Meteora introduced the Dynamic Liquidity Market Maker (DLMM), which lets liquidity providers concentrate assets in specific price bins; DLMM beta pools launched in December 2023 and generated about $1 billion in volume. Its co-founders include Benjamin Chow, who served as CEO, and the pseudonymous 'Meow' (Ng Ming Yeow), co-founder of the Solana DEX aggregator Jupiter. Pages differ on whether Chow was also a Jupiter co-founder. Meow said Meteora had operated independently from Jupiter for more than a year before the February 2025 controversy, although Meteora DLMM pools are a frequent routing destination for Jupiter swaps. Reported market share varies by date. In January 2025, monthly volume was reported at $39.9 billion (up from about $987 million in December 2024), with more than 15% of Solana DEX market share and TVL above $750 million. In February 2025 it held about 22% of Solana DEX volume, third behind Raydium and Orca, with more than $208 billion in cumulative volume. By mid-2026 it had about 26% of Solana DEX activity and about $800 million in TVL. The MET governance token launched on October 23, 2025 with a total supply of 1 billion; 480 million (48%) entered circulation at the token generation event through an airdrop to liquidity providers, traders and JUP stakers. One report put MET at about $0.17, with a market capitalization near $88 million, at the time of writing.","heading":"Background and protocol overview","sources":[{"url":"https://www.coingecko.com/learn/what-is-meteora-dex-solana-crypto","name":"What Is Meteora DEX? Solana's Fastest-Growing Liquidity Hub — CoinGecko","type":"research","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.bitget.com/academy/what-is-meteora-met-solana-liquidity-protocol-airdrop-and-listing-october-23-2025","name":"Meteora Airdrop and Listing Date Set for October 23 2025 — Bitget Academy","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.bitget.com/news/detail/12560605008313","name":"Once embroiled in a market manipulation scandal, can Meteora achieve a revival with the help of TGE? — Bitget News","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://crypto.news/solana-dex-meteora-to-launch-met-token/","name":"Solana DEX Meteora to launch MET token with half supply circulating — crypto.news","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/meteora","name":"Meteora Price: MET/USD — CoinGecko","type":"on_chain","credibility":2}],"severity":"low"},{"content":"Meteora launched the M3M3 staking platform and its $M3M3 meme coin on December 4, 2024. Chow and a Meteora Medium post promoted it as a 'stake-to-earn' token and 'a new era for memecoin hodling': community-driven, transparent, rewarded from fees on permanently locked liquidity, and positioned against pump-and-dump culture. The class-action complaints allege this framing was false. According to plaintiffs, about 150 insider wallets funded by Kelsier Labs acquired over 95% of the supply within 20 minutes of launch, allegedly through an undisclosed partnership between Chow and the Davis family. They allege the defendants repeatedly 'froze' and 'thawed' the DLMM launch pool, or imposed a restricted trading window, to keep public buyers out while insiders accumulated and inflated the price, then sold in a coordinated dump. SolanaFloor reported that 100 wallets sniped a large portion of the supply with investments of only a few hundred dollars each. The complaint also cites a launch anomaly in which the front-end unstaking link did not allow withdrawals, effectively trapping retail stakers. M3M3 peaked at about $0.186 on or around December 12, 2024, and collapsed within days. It traded near $0.003 when the suits were filed in April 2025, a fall of about 98%, and at about $0.0001 by mid-2026. Plaintiffs claim at least $69 million in losses to non-insider investors. All allegations are contested and have not been adjudicated.","heading":"Alleged market manipulation: M3M3 token launch","sources":[{"url":"https://decrypt.co/315860/solana-dex-meteora-sued-alleged-pump-dump-meme-coin-launch","name":"Solana DEX Meteora Sued Over Alleged Pump-and-Dump Meme Coin Launch — Decrypt","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://crypto.news/class-action-targets-meteora-and-kelsier-execs-over-69m-m3m3-token-crash/","name":"Class-action targets Meteora and Kelsier execs over $69M M3M3 token crash — crypto.news","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://bitcoinethereumnews.com/tech/class-action-lawsuit-claims-solana-dex-meteora-engineered-69-million-fraud-during-m3m3-token-launch/","name":"Class Action Lawsuit Claims Solana DEX Meteora Engineered $69 Million Fraud During M3M3 Token Launch — Bitcoin Ethereum News","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.hoppingrinsell.com/news/hoppin-grinsell-files-federal-class-action-lawsuit-on-behalf-of-m3m3-investors-against-meteora-kelsier-ventures-and-other-defendants","name":"Hoppin Grinsell Files Federal Class Action Lawsuit on Behalf of $M3M3 Investors — Hoppin Grinsell","type":"court_filing","credibility":1},{"url":"https://news.bloomberglaw.com/litigation/meteora-conducted-69-million-memecoin-scam-token-buyers-allege","name":"Meteora Conducted $69 Million Memecoin Scam, Token Buyers Allege — Bloomberg Law","type":"news_article","credibility":1},{"url":"https://www.ainvest.com/news/meteora-faces-69m-fraud-lawsuit-m3m3-token-launch-2504/","name":"Meteora Faces $69M Fraud Lawsuit Over M3M3 Token Launch — AInvest","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://cryptopotato.com/solanas-meteora-hit-with-lawsuit-over-alleged-meme-coin-scam/","name":"Solana's Meteora Hit With Lawsuit Over Alleged Meme Coin Scam — CryptoPotato","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://solanafloor.com/news/meteora-launches-m3-m3-platform-with-stake-to-earn-model","name":"Meteora Launches M3M3 Platform with Stake-to-Earn Model — SolanaFloor","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://meteoraag.medium.com/introducing-m3m3-a-new-era-for-memecoin-hodling-a88a470d2adf","name":"Introducing M3M3: A New Era for Memecoin Hodling — Meteora Medium","type":"official","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.cryptopolitan.com/solana-staking-m3m3-meteora-investments/","name":"New Solana staking coin M3M3 on Meteora draws investments, but unstaking may be a problem — Cryptopolitan","type":"news_article","credibility":2}],"severity":"critical"},{"content":"On February 14, 2025, Argentine President Javier Milei shared the contract address of LIBRA, a token created by Kelsier Ventures and launched on Meteora, from his verified social media account. It was branded around 'Viva La Libertad' and marketed as tied to an Argentine economic initiative. The token rose from a few cents to about $5 within an hour. Reports put its peak market capitalization at over $4 billion, about $4.4 billion or about $4.5 billion. It then collapsed within hours, by about 94%, by more than 89% within three hours of the peak, or by about 90%, depending on the report, after Milei deleted his post. The amended complaint says 'no legitimate project existed beyond a website created hours before launch' and alleges that Meteora's DLMM was used to build one-sided liquidity pools with manipulated price curves. Nansen found that 86% of LIBRA traders lost money, about $251 million in total. Reports differ on how much insiders extracted: the deployer wallet allegedly withdrew more than $110 million in USDC; about $87-99 million in liquidity was withdrawn by Kelsier-linked wallets (TRM Labs/Benzinga); plaintiffs allege more than $57 million in USDC and SOL; and investigators identified eight wallets that accumulated 57.6 million USDC and 249,671 SOL (about $49.7 million), for $107 million in alleged insider extraction. Hayden Davis of Kelsier Ventures claimed to have netted about $100 million from the launch but denied personally owning or selling the tokens. Milei later said he was 'not aware of the details' and that he had only 'spread the word.' An Argentine federal judge opened a fraud investigation, and more than 100 fraud complaints were filed against Milei in Argentina. In March 2025, Argentine lawyer Gregorio Dalbón asked prosecutor Eduardo Taiano and judge María Servini to seek an Interpol Red Notice for Hayden Davis, citing flight risk; the request is dated March 12 in one account and was reported March 13. Chow was named a co-defendant in the LIBRA suit. All fraud allegations remain unproven in court.","heading":"Alleged market manipulation: LIBRA token","sources":[{"url":"https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-lawsuit-blames-meteora-founder-122321158.html","name":"US Lawsuit Blames Meteora Founder for MELANIA and LIBRA Token Collapse — Yahoo Finance","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/argentina-lawyer-interpol-arrest-warrant-libra-creator","name":"Argentine lawyer requests Interpol Red Notice for LIBRA creator — CoinTelegraph","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2025/03/13/lawyer-requests-interpol-red-notice-for-libra-founder-hayden-davis-report","name":"Lawyer Requests Interpol Red Notice for Libra Founder Hayden Davis — CoinDesk","type":"news_article","credibility":1},{"url":"https://crypto.news/libra-solana-jupiter-meteora-scandal/","name":"How Jupiter and Meteora fueled LIBRA's collapse on Solana — crypto.news","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.trmlabs.com/post/the-libra-affair-tracking-the-memecoin-that-launched-a-scandal-in-argentina","name":"The $LIBRA Affair: Tracking the Memecoin That Launched a Scandal in Argentina — TRM Labs","type":"research","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.benzinga.com/25/02/43839293/entitied-tied-to-libra-token-creator-reportedly-removed-99-million-in-liquiditytraders-lost-over-250-million-in-scam","name":"Javier Milei-Backed LIBRA Token Creator Reportedly Removed $99 Million In Liquidity — Benzinga","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.dlnews.com/articles/markets/milei-backs-away-from-libra-memecoin-after-90-crash-not-aware-of-the-details/","name":"Milei backs away from LIBRA memecoin after 90% crash — DL News","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2025/02/20/libra-memecoin-fiasco-destroyed-usd251m-in-investor-wealth-research-shows","name":"LIBRA Memecoin Fiasco Destroyed $251M in Investor Wealth, Research Shows — CoinDesk","type":"news_article","credibility":1},{"url":"https://fortune.com/crypto/2025/02/18/javier-milei-memecoin-libra-cryptocurrency-crash-argentina-federal-judge-investigation/","name":"Javier Milei endorsed a memecoin that lost $4 billion. A judge is investigating him for fraud — Fortune","type":"news_article","credibility":1},{"url":"https://www.dlnews.com/articles/markets/how-did-milei-libra-memecoin-crash/","name":"Javier Milei's $4.5bn Libra memecoin scandal rocks Argentina: a timeline — DL News","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/$Libra_cryptocurrency_scandal","name":"$Libra cryptocurrency scandal — Wikipedia","type":"other","credibility":2},{"url":"https://colombiaone.com/2025/07/30/milei-libra-crypto/","name":"Argentine President Milei Named in New York Lawsuit Over $Libra Crypto — Colombia One","type":"news_article","credibility":2}],"severity":"critical"},{"content":"The amended complaint in Hurlock v. Kelsier describes a 'Meteora-Kelsier Enterprise' allegedly operating as a 'fraud factory' across at least 15 token launches, with LIBRA, MELANIA, ENRON, TRUST and M3M3 as its main focus. Pages differ on which amendment first made this expansion (see Litigation). The alleged pattern has four steps: build a narrative on a borrowed celebrity or political association; have insider-funded wallets buy in the opening seconds to capture supply; run undisclosed paid influencer campaigns to manufacture retail demand; and engineer price spikes using Meteora's pool controls to pause public trading until insider positions are secured, followed by coordinated liquidation. Fortune reported that the filing said the defendants 'weaponized fame to disarm diligence.' The filing included testimony from an anonymous whistleblower and previously unpublished text messages attributed to Hayden Davis. It states that Melania Trump and Javier Milei are not defendants and were allegedly used as unwitting 'props' or 'window dressing.' One account says an October 2025 filing in a related action placed Chow 'at the center of the enterprise' and named Jupiter co-founder Ng Ming Yeow (Meow) among the co-defendants. MELANIA, tied to First Lady Melania Trump, launched in January 2025 and peaked at a market capitalization of about $1.6 billion on January 20, 2025. It later fell to about $86 million in market capitalization, or from an all-time high of $13.05 to about $0.11 (about 99%). On-chain data from EmberCN showed wallets linked to the project selling about 3 million MELANIA in one day in April 2025 for about 9,009 SOL (around $1.2 million). Bubblemaps estimated insider profits across the scheme at over $100 million. The Trump family's cryptocurrency activity is reported to have generated about $427 million from the TRUMP and MELANIA meme coins. The 15-token allegations are contested and have not been adjudicated. On September 29, 2026, Judge Rochon denied leave to file a proposed second amended complaint that would have added MELANIA, ENRON and TRUST claims, finding amendment futile; the ruling did not decide whether the alleged conduct occurred.","heading":"Alleged fraud enterprise: MELANIA and at least 15 tokens","sources":[{"url":"https://cryptopotato.com/meteora-co-founder-hit-with-new-lawsuit-over-token-scams-linked-to-trump-milei/","name":"Meteora Co-Founder Hit with New Lawsuit Over Token Scams Linked to Trump, Milei — CryptoPotato","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://fortune.com/crypto/2025/10/23/melania-trump-memecoin-conspiracy-court-filing-benjamin-chow-hayden-davis/","name":"Melania Trump memecoin team 'weaponized fame to disarm diligence' in sprawling crypto conspiracy — Fortune","type":"news_article","credibility":1},{"url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/375832/ben-chow-melania-libra-memecoin","name":"Class action lawsuit claims Ben Chow orchestrated Melania, LIBRA memecoin fraud — The Block","type":"news_article","credibility":1},{"url":"https://www.gate.com/news/detail/15369162","name":"Meteora co-founded 15 types of Token scams — Gate Square / MarketWhisper","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://decrypt.co/345493/melania-trump-javier-milei-props-meme-coin-fraud-lawsuit-alleges","name":"Melania Trump, Javier Milei Used as Props for Meme Coin Fraud, Lawsuit Alleges — Decrypt","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://cryptonews.com/news/meteora-founder-accused-of-using-melania-trump-milei-for-57m-memecoin-scams/","name":"Meteora Founder Accused of Using Melania Trump, Milei for $57M Memecoin Scam — CryptoNews","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://finance.yahoo.com/news/meteora-founder-accused-using-melania-090636916.html","name":"Meteora Founder Accused of Using Melania Trump, Milei for $57M Memecoin Scam — Yahoo Finance","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://beincrypto.com/melania-milei-meme-coin-lawsuit/","name":"Meteora Founder Accused in Melania, Milei Meme Coin Fraud — BeInCrypto","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://beincrypto.com/melania-plunges-to-all-time-low-insider-sell-off/","name":"MELANIA Crashes to All-Time Low Amid $14.7 Million Insider Sales — BeInCrypto","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://finance.yahoo.com/news/meteora-gave-trump-team-4-091931328.html","name":"Meteora Gave Trump Team $4.2M Airdrop Hours After Founder Sued for Memecoin Scams — Yahoo Finance","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://solanacompass.com/news/judge-dismisses-libra-and-m3m3-memecoin-class-action-against-meteora-and-ben-chow","name":"Meteora LIBRA Lawsuit Dismissed: Judge Tosses M3M3 RICO Class Action Against Ben Chow, Hayden Davis — Solana Compass","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.642202/gov.uscourts.nysd.642202.274.0.pdf","name":"Hurlock v. Kelsier Labs, No. 1:25-cv-03891 (JLR) (S.D.N.Y.), Opinion and Order, Dkt. 274 (Sept. 29, 2026) — CourtListener RECAP","type":"court_filing","credibility":1}],"severity":"critical"},{"content":"Kelsier Labs LLC, trading as Kelsier Ventures, is a Delaware-registered Web3 venture firm. It is led by CEO Hayden Mark Davis, his brother Gideon Davis (COO) and his father Charles Thomas Davis (chairman), all named as co-defendants with Meteora and Chow in the SDNY class actions. On September 29, 2026, Judge Rochon dismissed the remaining claims against the Kelsier defendants in Hurlock v. Kelsier, in part for lack of personal jurisdiction in New York; the court did not find whether the alleged conduct did or did not happen. Hayden Davis is a Liberty University graduate who previously ran a leadership coaching company, Leaders Elevate. He reportedly claimed an advisory role with President Milei, which the Argentine government denied. ChainCatcher reported that Kelsier Ventures allegedly extracted about $200 million through insider trading and sniper-bot activity across multiple Solana token launches. After the LIBRA collapse, Davis said 'This isn't some random f*cking scam' and proposed a $100 million stabilization fund for LIBRA, which was not implemented. DeFi Tuna returned its Kelsier investment after the scandal, and Davis was reported to be trading meme tokens again within months. Chow acknowledged referring Kelsier to multiple projects as a token deployer, including the MELANIA launch.","heading":"Co-defendant: Kelsier Ventures and the Davis family","sources":[{"url":"https://www.chaincatcher.com/en/article/2168334","name":"Uncovering Kelsier Ventures, a 'Ding Crab Family' that harvested $200 million — ChainCatcher","type":"research","credibility":2},{"url":"https://crypto.news/this-isnt-some-random-fcking-scam-hayden-mark-davis-mastermind-behind-crashed-libra-crypto-scam/","name":"'This isn't some random f*cking scam': Hayden Mark Davis, mastermind behind crashed Libra crypto scam — crypto.news","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.cryptopolitan.com/defi-tuna-returns-investment-from-kelsier-ventures-after-libra-scandal/","name":"DeFi Tuna returns investment from Kelsier Ventures after LIBRA scandal — Cryptopolitan","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.cryptopolitan.com/hayden-davis-back-to-trading-memes-tokens/","name":"Hayden Davis returns to the market months after LIBRA token crash — Cryptopolitan","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://blocktribune.com/investors-sue-kelsier-labs-and-partners-for-fraudulent-memecoin-launches/","name":"Investors Sue Kelsier Labs and Partners for Fraudulent Memecoin Launches — BlockTribune","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/$Libra_cryptocurrency_scandal","name":"$Libra cryptocurrency scandal — Wikipedia","type":"other","credibility":2},{"url":"https://colombiaone.com/2025/07/30/milei-libra-crypto/","name":"Argentine President Milei Named in New York Lawsuit Over $Libra Crypto — Colombia One","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://solanacompass.com/news/judge-dismisses-libra-and-m3m3-memecoin-class-action-against-meteora-and-ben-chow","name":"Meteora LIBRA Lawsuit Dismissed: Judge Tosses M3M3 RICO Class Action Against Ben Chow, Hayden Davis — Solana Compass","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.642202/gov.uscourts.nysd.642202.274.0.pdf","name":"Hurlock v. Kelsier Labs, No. 1:25-cv-03891 (JLR) (S.D.N.Y.), Opinion and Order, Dkt. 274 (Sept. 29, 2026) — CourtListener RECAP","type":"court_filing","credibility":1}],"severity":"high"},{"content":"Plaintiffs Jonathan Clarke and Rodrigo Ferreira Da Cruz Vogt, represented by Hoppin Grinsell LLP and Burwick Law PLLC, brought a class action in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York before Judge Jennifer L. Rochon. It is captioned Clarke v. Chow and later Vogt et al. v. Meteora et al., Case No. 1:25-cv-03268. Pages give different filing dates: April 19, 2025 (the date on the original complaint PDF), April 19-22, April 21 (an amended complaint) and April 23, 2025. The defendants are Meteora (an unincorporated decentralized exchange), Benjamin Chow, Kelsier Labs LLC, Hayden Mark Davis, Gideon Davis and Charles Thomas Davis. The proposed class covers everyone who bought M3M3 on or after December 4, 2024, and alleges at least $69 million in losses over a class period running to about April 19, 2025. The claims include Securities Act sections 5, 12(a)(1) and 15 and Exchange Act sections 10(b) and 20(a), on the theory that M3M3 is an unregistered security; New York General Business Law sections 349 and 350; common law fraud; negligent misrepresentation; and unjust enrichment. Plaintiffs seek compensatory and punitive damages, rescission and, according to one account, a court-appointed receiver over Meteora's operations; they argue that stake-backed meme tokens should be classed as securities. In December 2025, a federal judge reportedly gave plaintiffs leave to file an expanded amended complaint adding defendants and causes of action, which one account says include RICO claims under 18 U.S.C. sections 1962(c) and (d). According to the PACERMonitor docket, plaintiffs filed a notice of voluntary dismissal under Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(i) on July 30, 2025, and the case was terminated on July 31, 2025, without any merits ruling; the related Hurlock action continued until its dismissal on September 29, 2026.","heading":"Litigation: Clarke v. Chow / Vogt v. Meteora (No. 1:25-cv-03268)","sources":[{"url":"https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/57724689/Clarke_et_al_v_Chow_et_al","name":"Clarke et al v. Chow et al — PACERMonitor (1:25-cv-03268)","type":"court_filing","credibility":1},{"url":"https://business.cch.com/srd/20250419_Clarke-v-Chow_complaint.pdf","name":"Clarke v. Chow Original Complaint (S.D.N.Y.) — CCH SRD","type":"court_filing","credibility":1},{"url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/m3m3-investors-notice-hoppin-grinsell-llp-and-burwick-law-file-securities-class-action-against-meteora-benjamin-chow-and-related-parties-302434942.html","name":"$M3M3 Investors Notice: Hoppin Grinsell LLP and Burwick Law File Securities Class Action — PR Newswire","type":"court_filing","credibility":1},{"url":"https://news.bloomberglaw.com/litigation/meteora-conducted-69-million-memecoin-scam-token-buyers-allege","name":"Meteora Conducted $69 Million Memecoin Scam, Token Buyers Allege — Bloomberg Law","type":"news_article","credibility":1},{"url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/meteora-class-action-lawsuit-alleging-blatant-fraud-involving-fraud-m3m3","name":"Investors sue Meteora and VC firm, alleging fraud — CoinTelegraph","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.hoppingrinsell.com/news/hoppin-grinsell-files-federal-class-action-lawsuit-on-behalf-of-m3m3-investors-against-meteora-kelsier-ventures-and-other-defendants","name":"Hoppin Grinsell Files Federal Class Action Lawsuit on Behalf of $M3M3 Investors — Hoppin Grinsell","type":"court_filing","credibility":1},{"url":"https://blockchain.news/flashnews/solana-sol-lawsuit-escalates-judge-allows-expanded-class-action-adding-meteora-and-hawk-tuah-with-ny-gbl-349-and-350-claims","name":"Solana SOL Lawsuit Escalates: Judge Allows Expanded Class Action Adding Meteora — Blockchain.news","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.642202/gov.uscourts.nysd.642202.274.0.pdf","name":"Hurlock v. Kelsier Labs, No. 1:25-cv-03891 (JLR) (S.D.N.Y.), Opinion and Order, Dkt. 274 (Sept. 29, 2026) — CourtListener RECAP","type":"court_filing","credibility":1}],"severity":"critical"},{"content":"Hurlock v. Kelsier Labs, LLC (also styled Hurlock v. Kelsier Ventures et al), Case No. 1:25-cv-03891-JLR, is before Judge Jennifer L. Rochon in the Southern District of New York. The pages disagree on its procedural history. According to the survivor page, Burwick Law filed the initial LIBRA complaint on March 17-19, 2025, amended it on April 19, 2025 (naming Chow and Meteora), filed a further amended complaint adding the M3M3 allegations on July 29, 2025, and filed an amended complaint expanding the case to 15 tokens on October 23, 2025. The other pages say the case was filed on April 19, 2025 and that the July 29, 2025 amendment expanded it to 15 tokens and added RICO claims. The defendants are Kelsier Labs LLC, Hayden Mark Davis, Gideon Davis, Charles Thomas Davis, Benjamin Chow and Meteora. The claims are common law fraud and conspiracy, RICO under 18 U.S.C. sections 1962(c) and (d), deceptive acts and false advertising under New York General Business Law sections 349 and 350, and unjust enrichment. The relief sought includes compensatory and treble damages, disgorgement, restitution, a constructive trust, injunctive relief, a receiver over Meteora and attorney fees. On May 28, 2025 the court issued a Temporary Restraining Order freezing about $57.65 million in USDC. Pages differ on whose funds these were: one says they were held by Hayden Davis and Ben Chow, another says two Solana wallets linked to Kelsier Ventures and Hayden Davis. On August 19, 2025, Judge Rochon vacated the TRO, finding that defendants had complied with court orders and had not moved or concealed assets, and said she was 'skeptical' of plaintiffs' likelihood of success on the merits. Plaintiffs' counsel called it a procedural setback, not a ruling on the merits. Hayden Davis moved to dismiss on jurisdictional grounds, arguing he does not live in New York and the conduct was not aimed at New York residents, and defendants filed a motion to dismiss on October 31, 2025. On September 29, 2026, Judge Rochon granted every motion to dismiss in an 81-page opinion and order and denied plaintiffs' request to file a second amended complaint as futile. She held that the alleged roughly six-month scheme did not show the continuity required for RICO ('Six months is not sufficient to demonstrate a \"substantial period of time\"'), that plaintiffs had not sufficiently pleaded that Meteora is an unincorporated association capable of being sued, that the fraud allegations against Chow did not adequately plead fraudulent intent, and that the remaining claims against the Kelsier defendants failed for lack of personal jurisdiction. Judgment entered on September 30, 2026 states that 'the Amended Complaint is dismissed with prejudice; accordingly, the case is closed.' The ruling tested the sufficiency of the pleadings: Judge Rochon did not find that the alleged conduct did or did not happen. No notice of appeal had been reported in the reviewed sources.","heading":"Litigation: Hurlock v. Kelsier (No. 1:25-cv-03891-JLR) and asset freeze","sources":[{"url":"https://www.burwick.law/active-cases/m3m3-and-libra-token-lawsuit-hurlock-v-kelsier","name":"$M3M3 and $LIBRA Token Lawsuit: Hurlock v. Kelsier — Burwick Law","type":"court_filing","credibility":1},{"url":"https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/57999531/Hurlock_v_Kelsier_Ventures_et_al","name":"Hurlock v. Kelsier Ventures, 1:25-cv-03891 — PACER Monitor","type":"court_filing","credibility":1},{"url":"https://dockets.justia.com/docket/new-york/nysdce/1:2025cv03891/642202","name":"Hurlock v. Kelsier Ventures, 1:25-cv-03891 — Justia Dockets","type":"court_filing","credibility":1},{"url":"https://business.cch.com/srd/20251031_Hurlock-v-KelsierVentures_223_motion_dismiss.pdf","name":"Hurlock v. Kelsier Ventures motion to dismiss — CCH SRD","type":"court_filing","credibility":1},{"url":"https://www.ainvest.com/news/kelsier-ventures-founder-seeks-dismissal-100-million-libra-lawsuit-2507/","name":"Kelsier Ventures Co-Founder Seeks Dismissal of $100 Million LIBRA Lawsuit — Ainvest","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://cryptopotato.com/libra-token-fallout-court-blocks-57-65m-in-usdc-linked-to-kelsier-ventures/","name":"LIBRA Token Fallout: Court Blocks $57.65M in USDC Linked to Kelsier Ventures — CryptoPotato","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://99bitcoins.com/news/us-court-blocks-57m-in-usdc-amid-libra-token-controversy/","name":"US Court Blocks $57M in USDC Amid LIBRA Token Controversy — 99Bitcoins","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.cahill.com/news/firm-news/2025-08-19-cahill-defeats-plaintiffs-bid-to-freeze-assets-in-high-profile-libra-gate-class-action","name":"Cahill Defeats Plaintiffs' Bid to Freeze Assets in High-Profile '$LIBRA Gate' Class Action — Cahill Gordon & Reindel","type":"court_filing","credibility":1},{"url":"https://decrypt.co/336060/libra-promoters-regain-access-57-6-million-crypto-judge-unfreezes-assets","name":"Libra Promoters Regain Access to $57.6 Million in Crypto After Judge Unfreezes Assets — Decrypt","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.sbaitilaw.com/blog/press-release/federal-court-unfreezes-57m-in-frozen-crypto-assets-held-by-libra-token-promoters/","name":"Federal Court Unfreezes $57M in Frozen Crypto Assets Held by LIBRA Token Promoters — Sbaiti & Company","type":"court_filing","credibility":1},{"url":"https://crypto.news/us-court-clears-57m-in-frozen-usdc-in-libra-token-lawsuit/","name":"US court clears $57M in frozen USDC in Libra token lawsuit — crypto.news","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://solanacompass.com/news/judge-dismisses-libra-and-m3m3-memecoin-class-action-against-meteora-and-ben-chow","name":"Meteora LIBRA Lawsuit Dismissed: Judge Tosses M3M3 RICO Class Action Against Ben Chow, Hayden Davis — Solana Compass","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.642202/gov.uscourts.nysd.642202.274.0.pdf","name":"Hurlock v. Kelsier Labs, No. 1:25-cv-03891 (JLR) (S.D.N.Y.), Opinion and Order, Dkt. 274 (Sept. 29, 2026) — CourtListener RECAP","type":"court_filing","credibility":1}],"severity":"critical"},{"content":"Benjamin Chow resigned as co-founder and CEO of Meteora on February 18, 2025 (some accounts say February 18-19), as the LIBRA controversy escalated. Meow announced the resignation on X. On LIBRA, Chow said: 'although we were made aware of the possibility of it several weeks ago by Hayden, we had no involvement in the project at all beyond providing IT support.' He denied that he or Meteora received tokens or compensation, traded on inside information or had material non-public information about any launch. He acknowledged referring Kelsier Ventures to projects as a token deployer, and said in a video call: 'I feel so sick because I gave him Melania… 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.' Meow said: 'I stand by Ben and his statement... 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...and this is unfortunately unacceptable.' He added: 'I'd like to reiterate my confidence that no one at Jupiter or Meteora committed any insider trading or financial wrongdoing, or received any tokens inappropriately.' Chow has maintained that the M3M3 launch was intended as a legitimate community initiative. In court, Chow and other Meteora leaders submitted sworn declarations describing themselves as 'passive developers of autonomous software' with no material role in the tokens' price behaviour, a characterization plaintiffs contest. Bloomberg Law reported that Chow did not respond to a comment request and that Meteora, Kelsier and the Davis family could not be reached. No formal public statement addressing the substance of the M3M3 allegations had been identified. Chow is no longer in an operational role. The Clarke/Vogt suit was voluntarily dismissed in July 2025, and on September 29, 2026 the claims against him in Hurlock v. Kelsier were dismissed with prejudice after the court found his statements 'equally consistent with legitimate support of a token launch'; the court did not find whether the alleged conduct did or did not happen.","heading":"Benjamin Chow: resignation, denials and defendants' position","sources":[{"url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/341412/meteora-co-founder-ben-chow-resigns-amid-libra-scandal","name":"Meteora co-founder Ben Chow resigns amid Libra scandal — The Block","type":"news_article","credibility":1},{"url":"https://crypto.news/libra-memecoin-meteora-ben-chow-resignation-2025/","name":"Meteora co-founder Ben Chow resigns amid LIBRA — crypto.news","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://decrypt.co/306498/co-founder-of-crypto-firm-behind-trump-melania-tokens-resigns-amid-insider-trading-allegations","name":"Co-Founder of Crypto Firm Behind Trump, Melania Tokens Resigns Amid Insider Trading Allegations — Decrypt","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/libra-solana-meltdown-meteora-jupiter","name":"LIBRA, Solana drama: Meteora co-founder resigns, Jupiter begins probe — CoinTelegraph","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://thedefiant.io/news/defi/meteora-faces-insider-trading-allegations-as-ceo-ben-chow-resigns","name":"Meteora Faces Insider Trading Allegations as CEO Ben Chow Resigns — The Defiant","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://defi-planet.com/2025/02/meteora-co-founder-ben-chow-resigns-amid-libra-memecoin-controversy/","name":"Meteora Co-Founder Ben Chow Resigns Amid LIBRA Memecoin Controversy — DeFi Planet","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.bitdegree.org/crypto/news/meteora-co-founder-ben-chow-steps-down-after-libra-token-controversy","name":"Ben Chow Steps Down After LIBRA Token Controversy — BitDegree","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.blockhead.co/2025/02/19/meteora-ceo-ben-chow-resigns-amid-libra-insider-trading-allegations-2/","name":"Meteora CEO Ben Chow Resigns Amid LIBRA Insider Trading Allegations — Blockhead","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.dlnews.com/articles/defi/libra-fallout-as-solana-defi-leader-resigns/","name":"Milei memecoin fallout snowballs as Solana DeFi leader resigns — DL News","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://news.bloomberglaw.com/litigation/meteora-conducted-69-million-memecoin-scam-token-buyers-allege","name":"Meteora Conducted $69 Million Memecoin Scam, Token Buyers Allege — Bloomberg Law","type":"news_article","credibility":1},{"url":"https://business.cch.com/srd/20251031_Hurlock-v-KelsierVentures_223_motion_dismiss.pdf","name":"Hurlock v. Kelsier Ventures motion to dismiss — CCH SRD","type":"court_filing","credibility":1},{"url":"https://solanacompass.com/news/judge-dismisses-libra-and-m3m3-memecoin-class-action-against-meteora-and-ben-chow","name":"Meteora LIBRA Lawsuit Dismissed: Judge Tosses M3M3 RICO Class Action Against Ben Chow, Hayden Davis — Solana Compass","type":"news_article","credibility":2}],"severity":"high"},{"content":"After Chow resigned, Meow announced on or around February 19, 2025 that Fenwick & West had been retained to conduct an independent investigation into the LIBRA matter and publish the results. Legal observers criticised the choice because Fenwick & West faced its own litigation over alleged involvement in obscuring the relationship between FTX and Alameda Research, and Meow later said he would reconsider the firm. No findings had been published as of mid-2025 or in the sources reviewed since. Jupiter and Meteora both denied that any staff engaged in insider trading or received tokens inappropriately.","heading":"Independent investigation","sources":[{"url":"https://www.coinspeaker.com/jupiter-co-founder-hired-law-firm-issue-libra-investigation-report/","name":"Jupiter Co-founder Hired Law Firm to Issue LIBRA Investigation Report — Coinspeaker","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.cryptopolitan.com/jupiter-meteora-deny-insider-trading/","name":"Jupiter and Meteora deny any insider trading or financial misconduct — Cryptopolitan","type":"news_article","credibility":2}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"Meteora held its MET token generation event on October 23, 2025, the same day as, and reportedly hours after, an amended complaint expanding the fraud allegations became public. 48% of supply circulated at launch with no vesting for community and user allocations. On-chain analysis of about 70,000 recipients found that four whale addresses received 28.5% of the distributed tokens, while more than 60,000 retail users shared 7%. The Comet Points programme meant to guide allocation was criticised for not giving retail liquidity providers the promised weighting. Arkham Intelligence identified three addresses linked to the TRUMP memecoin team among the top five recipients: the TRUMP developer address and two wallets that supplied major TRUMP liquidity on its launch day. Together they received about $4.2 million in MET, and all three deposited their full allocations to OKX as MET/USDT spot trading opened there. Pages differ on the basis for their eligibility: one says the wallets qualified through their TRUMP liquidity activity, while others say Meteora did not publicly explain it and issued no statement on the distributions. Wallets linked to MELANIA insider activity also received MET worth about $1.5 million, though a Yahoo Finance headline cited $1.2 million. Hayden Davis also reportedly received an allocation despite being a defendant. Reports of the MET price fall vary: debuting above $0.60 and falling more than 70% within hours; falling more than 36% to about $0.59 over the following days; about 40% over the following week; and 55% in a DailyCoin headline. MET later traded below its pre-listing futures price.","heading":"MET token launch and airdrop controversy (October 2025)","sources":[{"url":"https://finance.yahoo.com/news/meteora-gave-trump-team-4-091931328.html","name":"Meteora Gave Trump Team $4.2M Airdrop Hours After Founder Sued for Memecoin Scams — Yahoo Finance","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://cryptonews.com/news/meteora-gave-trump-team-4-2m-airdrop-hours-after-founder-sued-for-memecoin-scams/","name":"Meteora Gave Trump Team $4.2M Airdrop Hours After Founder Sued for Memecoin Scams — CryptoNews","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.cryptopolitan.com/trump-team-wallets-airdrop-recipients/","name":"Trump team wallets among the top 5 Meteora airdrop recipients — Cryptopolitan","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://coinedition.com/4-2-million-met-airdrop-sent-to-okx-by-trump-wallets-right-before-40-crash-arkham/","name":"$4.2 Million MET Airdrop Sent to OKX by TRUMP Wallets Right Before 40% Crash: Arkham — CoinEdition","type":"on_chain","credibility":2},{"url":"https://crypto.news/meteora-crashes-40-as-trump-linked-insiders-corner-airdrop/","name":"Meteora crashes 40% as TRUMP-linked insiders corner airdrop — crypto.news","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://blog.mexc.com/meteora-met-tge-inside-most-controversial-token-launch-of-solana/","name":"Meteora's MET TGE: Inside Solana's Most Controversial Token Launch — MEXC Blog","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.panewslab.com/en/articles/a8125950-aae4-4ac9-8d86-fbfe8a21f31d","name":"70,000 On-chain Data Reveal Meteora Airdrop: 4 Whale Addresses Take 28.5%, Over 60,000 Retail Users Share Only 7% — PANews","type":"on_chain","credibility":2},{"url":"https://finance.yahoo.com/news/wallets-tied-melania-trump-meme-221116974.html","name":"Wallets Tied to Melania Trump Meme Coin Airdropped $1.2 Million in Meteora Tokens — Yahoo Finance","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://bitcoinethereumnews.com/crypto/met-airdrop-sparks-backlash-after-melania-coin-insiders-cash-in/","name":"MET airdrop sparks backlash after Melania coin insiders cash in — Bitcoin Ethereum News","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://beincrypto.com/meteora-airdrop-trump-corruption-concerns/","name":"Meteora Airdrop Goes Wrong: Corruption, Bribery, Betrayal? — BeInCrypto","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://dailycoin.com/meteora-met-crashes-55-amid-trump-linked-airdrop-flop/","name":"Meteora Crashes 55% Amid Trump-Linked Airdrop Flop — DailyCoin","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.bitget.com/academy/meteora-crypto-meta-price-prediction-trump-link-crash-prediction","name":"Meteora (MET) Price Forecast 2025-2030: Trump Family Ties, Airdrop Scandal — Bitget","type":"news_article","credibility":2}],"severity":"high"},{"content":"On or around February 22, 2026, on-chain investigator ZachXBT said he was finishing a probe into alleged industrial-scale insider trading at a major crypto company, involving tens of millions in profits from exploiting listing announcements and pre-release protocol upgrades, and scheduled the report for February 26, 2026. He did not name the firm. On Polymarket, about $3 million was bet on which company would be named, and Meteora led with implied odds of about 44-53%, ahead of Pump.fun, Axiom, Jupiter and MEXC. MET fell about 15% in the 24 hours before the announcement. The report's findings could not be independently verified from the sources available.","heading":"ZachXBT insider-trading probe (February 2026)","sources":[{"url":"https://www.cryptopolitan.com/meteora-zachxbt-inside-trading-investigation/","name":"Meteora named as prime suspect in ZachXBT's insider trading investigation — Cryptopolitan","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://cryptorank.io/news/feed/d9fad-meteora-zachxbt-inside-trading-investigation","name":"Meteora named as prime suspect in ZachXBT's insider trading investigation — CryptoRank","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://finance.yahoo.com/news/zachxbt-insider-trading-report-targets-150813518.html","name":"ZachXBT Insider Trading Report Targets Major Crypto Firm in 2 Days — Yahoo Finance","type":"news_article","credibility":2}],"severity":"high"},{"content":"As of June 2026, no SEC enforcement action, CFTC order, DOJ indictment or other criminal charge had been publicly filed against Meteora, Benjamin Chow or Kelsier Ventures. No regulator has shut down or restricted the protocol. The private SDNY class actions are closed: Clarke/Vogt was voluntarily dismissed in July 2025, and Hurlock v. Kelsier was dismissed with prejudice on September 29, 2026 on the sufficiency of the pleadings, without a finding on whether the alleged conduct occurred. Meteora's DEX and DLMM continue to operate on Solana mainnet. TVL was above $800 million in late 2025 and about $800 million in mid-2026, with about 26% of Solana DEX activity and daily swap volume of about $840 million. Jupiter routes significant liquidity through Meteora pools. In December 2025 Meteora announced a $10 million MET buyback. It shipped major DLMM upgrades in Q1 2026, including limit orders and quote-only fees, and updated its DBC SDK to v1.5.3 on June 20, 2026. Users of Meteora pools and DLMM products remain exposed to reputational and possible regulatory risk from the litigation.","heading":"Regulatory status and current operations","sources":[{"url":"https://genfinity.io/2026/06/08/meteora-lp-army-solana-liquidity-education/","name":"Meteora's LP Army: How Solana's Largest DLMM Protocol Turns Retail Traders Into Liquidity Providers — Genfinity","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://dexrank.com/reviews/meteora-dex","name":"Meteora DEX Review 2026: Is Solana's DLMM King Worth Your Liquidity? — DexRank","type":"research","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.cryptotimes.io/2025/12/11/solana-based-dex-aggregator-meteora-unveils-10m-token-buyback/","name":"Solana-based DEX Aggregator Meteora Unveils $10M Token Buyback — CryptoTimes","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.ainvest.com/news/meteora-token-launch-tvl-dynamics-assessing-tokenomics-capital-allocation-risks-high-valuation-defi-ecosystem-2509/","name":"Meteora's Token Launch and TVL Dynamics — ainvest","type":"research","credibility":3},{"url":"https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/meteora","name":"Meteora Price: MET/USD — CoinGecko","type":"on_chain","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.cryptopolitan.com/jupiter-meteora-deny-insider-trading/","name":"Jupiter and Meteora deny any insider trading or financial misconduct — Cryptopolitan","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://solanacompass.com/news/judge-dismisses-libra-and-m3m3-memecoin-class-action-against-meteora-and-ben-chow","name":"Meteora LIBRA Lawsuit Dismissed: Judge Tosses M3M3 RICO Class Action Against Ben Chow, Hayden Davis — Solana Compass","type":"news_article","credibility":2}],"severity":"medium"}],"timeline":[{"date":"2021","event":"Mercurial Finance, Meteora's predecessor, launches on Solana as a stablecoin DEX and raises $3.5 million in seed funding.","source":"CoinGecko","source_url":"https://www.coingecko.com/learn/what-is-meteora-dex-solana-crypto"},{"date":"2023-02","event":"Mercurial Finance restructures and relaunches as Meteora after the 2022 FTX collapse.","source":"CoinGecko","source_url":"https://www.coingecko.com/learn/what-is-meteora-dex-solana-crypto"},{"date":"2023-12","event":"Meteora launches DLMM beta pools, generating about $1 billion in volume.","source":"CoinGecko","source_url":"https://www.coingecko.com/learn/what-is-meteora-dex-solana-crypto"},{"date":"2024-12","event":"M3M3 launches on Meteora (December 4); plaintiffs allege ~150 insider wallets captured ~95% of supply within 20 minutes.","source":"Decrypt","source_url":"https://decrypt.co/315860/solana-dex-meteora-sued-alleged-pump-dump-meme-coin-launch"},{"date":"2024-12","event":"M3M3 reaches all-time high of about $0.186 (around December 12) and collapses within days, beginning a decline of more than 98%.","source":"Decrypt","source_url":"https://decrypt.co/315860/solana-dex-meteora-sued-alleged-pump-dump-meme-coin-launch"},{"date":"2025-01","event":"MELANIA token launches and peaks at about $1.6 billion market cap (reported January 20).","source":"Fortune","source_url":"https://fortune.com/crypto/2025/10/23/melania-trump-memecoin-conspiracy-court-filing-benjamin-chow-hayden-davis/"},{"date":"2025-02","event":"Javier Milei promotes LIBRA (February 14); the token reaches a multi-billion-dollar market cap and collapses about 90% within hours. Nansen later puts retail losses at $251 million.","source":"CoinDesk","source_url":"https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2025/02/20/libra-memecoin-fiasco-destroyed-usd251m-in-investor-wealth-research-shows"},{"date":"2025-02","event":"Bubblemaps publishes analysis estimating insider profits of over $100 million across the alleged scheme.","source":"CryptoPotato","source_url":"https://cryptopotato.com/meteora-co-founder-hit-with-new-lawsuit-over-token-scams-linked-to-trump-milei/"},{"date":"2025-02","event":"Benjamin Chow resigns as Meteora co-founder and CEO (February 18); Meow confirms, citing a lack of judgement.","source":"The Block","source_url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/341412/meteora-co-founder-ben-chow-resigns-amid-libra-scandal"},{"date":"2025-02","event":"Meow announces Fenwick & West will conduct an independent investigation into the LIBRA matter.","source":"Coinspeaker","source_url":"https://www.coinspeaker.com/jupiter-co-founder-hired-law-firm-issue-libra-investigation-report/"},{"date":"2025-03","event":"Argentine lawyer Gregorio Dalbón requests an Interpol Red Notice for Hayden Davis.","source":"CoinDesk","source_url":"https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2025/03/13/lawyer-requests-interpol-red-notice-for-libra-founder-hayden-davis-report"},{"date":"2025-03","event":"According to the survivor page, Burwick Law files the initial LIBRA class action in SDNY (March 17-19); other pages date the Hurlock filing to April 19, 2025.","source":"Burwick Law","source_url":"https://www.burwick.law/active-cases/m3m3-and-libra-token-lawsuit-hurlock-v-kelsier"},{"date":"2025-04","event":"Hurlock v. Kelsier (No. 1:25-cv-03891) filed or amended (April 19) and Clarke v. Chow (No. 1:25-cv-03268) filed (dates reported between April 19 and 23), alleging at least $69 million in M3M3 losses.","source":"PR Newswire","source_url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/m3m3-investors-notice-hoppin-grinsell-llp-and-burwick-law-file-securities-class-action-against-meteora-benjamin-chow-and-related-parties-302434942.html"},{"date":"2025-04","event":"Wallets linked to MELANIA sell about 3 million tokens in one day for about 9,009 SOL (~$1.2 million), per EmberCN.","source":"BeInCrypto","source_url":"https://beincrypto.com/melania-plunges-to-all-time-low-insider-sell-off/"},{"date":"2025-05","event":"SDNY issues a TRO freezing about $57.65 million in USDC (May 28).","source":"CryptoPotato","source_url":"https://cryptopotato.com/libra-token-fallout-court-blocks-57-65m-in-usdc-linked-to-kelsier-ventures/"},{"date":"2025-07","event":"Amended complaint filed in Hurlock v. Kelsier (July 29), adding M3M3 allegations and RICO claims; some pages say this amendment expanded the case to 15 tokens.","source":"Burwick Law","source_url":"https://www.burwick.law/active-cases/m3m3-and-libra-token-lawsuit-hurlock-v-kelsier"},{"date":"2025-08","event":"Judge Rochon vacates the TRO (August 19), finding defendants complied with court orders and expressing skepticism about plaintiffs' likelihood of success.","source":"Cahill Gordon & Reindel","source_url":"https://www.cahill.com/news/firm-news/2025-08-19-cahill-defeats-plaintiffs-bid-to-freeze-assets-in-high-profile-libra-gate-class-action"},{"date":"2025-10","event":"Amended complaint expanding allegations to at least 15 tokens reported (October 23, per the survivor page); Meteora holds the MET TGE the same day, with $4.2 million going to Trump-linked wallets that move it to OKX.","source":"Yahoo Finance","source_url":"https://finance.yahoo.com/news/meteora-gave-trump-team-4-091931328.html"},{"date":"2025-10","event":"MET declines sharply in the days after launch (reported at 36% to 70%+ depending on source and window).","source":"CoinEdition","source_url":"https://coinedition.com/4-2-million-met-airdrop-sent-to-okx-by-trump-wallets-right-before-40-crash-arkham/"},{"date":"2025-10","event":"Defendants file a motion to dismiss in Hurlock v. Kelsier (October 31).","source":"CCH SRD","source_url":"https://business.cch.com/srd/20251031_Hurlock-v-KelsierVentures_223_motion_dismiss.pdf"},{"date":"2025-12","event":"Federal judge reportedly grants leave to file an expanded amended complaint in the M3M3 case.","source":"Blockchain.news","source_url":"https://blockchain.news/flashnews/solana-sol-lawsuit-escalates-judge-allows-expanded-class-action-adding-meteora-and-hawk-tuah-with-ny-gbl-349-and-350-claims"},{"date":"2025-12","event":"Meteora announces a $10 million MET token buyback.","source":"CryptoTimes","source_url":"https://www.cryptotimes.io/2025/12/11/solana-based-dex-aggregator-meteora-unveils-10m-token-buyback/"},{"date":"2026-02","event":"ZachXBT announces a forthcoming insider-trading report on an unnamed major crypto firm; Polymarket bettors give Meteora 44-53% odds of being named; MET falls ~15%.","source":"Cryptopolitan","source_url":"https://www.cryptopolitan.com/meteora-zachxbt-inside-trading-investigation/"},{"date":"2026-06","event":"Meteora releases DBC SDK v1.5.3 (June 20); protocol operates with ~$800M TVL and ~26% Solana DEX share while litigation remains pending.","source":"Genfinity","source_url":"https://genfinity.io/2026/06/08/meteora-lp-army-solana-liquidity-education/"},{"date":"2026-09-29","event":"Judge Jennifer L. Rochon (S.D.N.Y.) grants every motion to dismiss in Hurlock v. Kelsier, dismissing the amended complaint against Meteora, Benjamin Chow, Kelsier Ventures and Hayden Davis with prejudice and denying leave to file a second amended complaint; the ruling does not find whether the alleged conduct occurred.","source":"Solana Compass","source_url":"https://solanacompass.com/news/judge-dismisses-libra-and-m3m3-memecoin-class-action-against-meteora-and-ben-chow","date_evidence":"On 29 September 2026, US District Judge Jennifer L. Rochon of the Southern District of New York granted every motion to dismiss in Hurlock v. Kelsier Labs"}],"sources_used":[{"url":"https://www.coingecko.com/learn/what-is-meteora-dex-solana-crypto","name":"What Is Meteora DEX? 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