{"investigation":{"slug":"meteora-m3m3-token","entity_name":"M3M3 Token","trust_score":35,"severity_base":35,"score_modifier":0,"confidence":0.7,"status":"published","content_type":"investigation","summary":"M3M3 is a Solana token launched on 4 December 2024 on the Meteora DEX, promoted as a stake-to-earn memecoin that paid staking rewards from trading fees on locked liquidity. Class-action plaintiffs in the Southern District of New York alleged that roughly 150 insider wallets obtained about 95% of supply at launch and sold into retail buyers, causing more than $69 million in alleged losses; the token has since fallen about 99.9% from its all-time high. In September 2026 the court dismissed the consolidated LIBRA/M3M3 class action, stating that its ruling tested the sufficiency of the pleadings and did not decide whether misconduct occurred.","sections":[{"content":"M3M3 is a Solana token that launched on 4 December 2024 on Meteora, a Solana decentralized exchange (covered on its own AVOID.NET page). Meteora described M3M3 as a staking mechanism for memecoins inspired by the '(3,3)' game-theory model, stating that if everyone stakes a token, selling pressure falls. In Meteora's description, 'top memecoin stakers compete to earn fee rewards from permanently-locked liquidity', a design often called 'stake-for-fee'. Plaintiffs allege that Benjamin Chow, then Meteora's CEO, promoted the launch as 'a transparent and open' one with 'staking rewards...from transaction fees on Meteora itself'. Crypto press also reported at launch that unstaking could be a problem for participants. The token's Solana mint address, as listed by CoinGecko, is M3M3pSFptfpZYnWNUgAbyWzKKgPo5d1eWmX6tbiSF2K; this comes from an aggregator listing and not from an on-chain explorer, and it should be verified before use. Meteora's X posts are cited for its own description of the mechanism, but the X page could not be fetched for verification, so those quotes rest on search-result snippets.","heading":"Overview and launch mechanism","sources":[{"url":"https://x.com/MeteoraAG/status/1864360417587548654","name":"Meteora on X: M3M3 turns the race to dump into a race to stake","type":"social_media","credibility":3},{"url":"https://x.com/MeteoraAG/status/1864638350998819260","name":"Meteora on X: M3M3 stake-to-earn guide","type":"social_media","credibility":3},{"url":"https://cryptorank.io/news/feed/8aa43-solana-staking-m3m3-meteora-investments","name":"New Solana staking coin M3M3 on Meteora draws investments, but unstaking may be a problem - Cryptorank","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://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/m3m3","name":"M3M3 price page - CoinGecko","type":"other","credibility":2}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"According to press reports, M3M3 launched at about $0.001 on 4 December 2024 and rallied above $0.12 within days. CoinGecko lists an all-time high of $0.1866. Crypto.news reported that the sharp downturn began on 6 December 2024, shortly after insiders allegedly sold. By April 2025 Decrypt reported the token had fallen about 98% from its peak and was trading near $0.003. CoinGecko's page at the time of research listed a price of about $0.0001247, roughly 99.9% below the all-time high, with a market capitalization of about $125,000 and very low daily volume (about $1,150). These live figures change continuously and reflect a single aggregator snapshot.","heading":"Price history","sources":[{"url":"https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/m3m3","name":"M3M3 price page - CoinGecko","type":"other","credibility":2},{"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}],"severity":"high"},{"content":"The class-action complaints allege that the launch was not the open, public event it was presented as. Plaintiffs allege that defendants 'covertly orchestrated the purportedly public launch of M3M3 on Meteora to limit initial sales to defendants and insiders', that about 150 insider wallets controlled roughly 95% of supply within 20 minutes, and that public buyers were restricted during the early window while insiders inflated the price through internal trades before selling. The Burwick Law case summary says defendants allegedly froze the token and let about 150 insider wallets buy over 95% of supply at reduced prices before public trading. In its dismissal ruling the court recounted the plaintiffs' allegation that defendants took a further 85.2% of supply from an 'otherwise covertly frozen' launch pool on 4 December 2024, and added that 'None of these points was tested in court.' These are allegations only; no court has found them to be true, and defendants' positions are not summarized in the sources reviewed.","heading":"Alleged insider concentration at 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 $69m M3M3 token crash - Crypto.news","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.burwick.law/active-cases/m3m3-and-libra-token-lawsuit-hurlock-v-kelsier","name":"$M3M3 and $LIBRA Token Lawsuit: Hurlock v. Kelsier - Burwick Law","type":"court_filing","credibility":1},{"url":"https://solanacompass.com/news/judge-dismisses-libra-and-m3m3-memecoin-class-action-against-meteora-and-ben-chow","name":"Judge dismisses LIBRA and M3M3 memecoin class action - Solana Compass","type":"news_article","credibility":2}],"severity":"critical"},{"content":"An M3M3 class action was filed in the Southern District of New York in April 2025 (the Burwick Law page gives 19 April 2025; Crypto.news reports 21 April) by Burwick Law and Hoppin Grinsell. It named Meteora, Benjamin Chow, Kelsier Labs (trading as Kelsier Ventures) and Hayden, Gideon and Charles Thomas Davis. The case later proceeded as Hurlock v. Kelsier Labs, No. 1:25-cv-03891-JLR, with an amended complaint filed in July 2025. A related original complaint is hosted as Clarke v. Chow, but its text could not be read for this page. Claims include common-law fraud and conspiracy, RICO (18 U.S.C. 1962(c) and (d)), New York General Business Law deceptive acts and unjust enrichment. The plaintiffs allege more than $69 million in damages and sought a receiver over Meteora and a ruling that stake-based memecoins are securities. As alleged against Meteora and Chow, the claims center on the promotion of the launch as transparent. As alleged against Kelsier and the Davises, the claims center on insider access and the sell-off. Kelsier Ventures and its principal Hayden Davis are covered on their own page, and the related LIBRA token (February 2025) was pleaded in the same action. On 29 September 2026 Judge Jennifer L. Rochon granted all motions to dismiss. As reported, the grounds were: the RICO pattern period of about six months (October 2024 to March 2025) was too short; the statements attributed to Chow were equally consistent with legitimate support; Meteora was not adequately pleaded as a suable unincorporated association; and the court lacked personal jurisdiction over Kelsier Labs and Davis. Leave to amend was denied and the case was closed. The court stated that the ruling concerned the sufficiency of the pleadings and not whether manipulation or fraud occurred. The reports reviewed do not say whether an appeal has been filed.","heading":"Litigation concerning M3M3","sources":[{"url":"https://solanacompass.com/news/judge-dismisses-libra-and-m3m3-memecoin-class-action-against-meteora-and-ben-chow","name":"Judge dismisses LIBRA and M3M3 memecoin class action - Solana Compass","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.burwick.law/active-cases/m3m3-and-libra-token-lawsuit-hurlock-v-kelsier","name":"$M3M3 and $LIBRA Token Lawsuit: Hurlock v. Kelsier - Burwick Law","type":"court_filing","credibility":1},{"url":"https://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://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://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}],"severity":"high"}],"timeline":[{"date":"2024-12","event":"M3M3 launches on Meteora; plaintiffs allege insiders obtained most of the supply within minutes.","source":"Crypto.news","source_url":"https://crypto.news/class-action-targets-meteora-and-kelsier-execs-over-69m-m3m3-token-crash/","date_evidence":"M3M3 launched at $0.001 on December 4, quickly rallying above $0.12.","date_original":"2024-12-04"},{"date":"2024-12","event":"Sharp price decline begins within days of launch, reported as starting 6 December after alleged insider selling.","source":"Crypto.news","source_url":"https://crypto.news/class-action-targets-meteora-and-kelsier-execs-over-69m-m3m3-token-crash/"},{"date":"2025-04","event":"Class action over the M3M3 launch filed in S.D.N.Y. against Meteora, Benjamin Chow, Kelsier Labs and the Davises; the filing day is reported as 19 or 21 April.","source":"Decrypt","source_url":"https://decrypt.co/315860/solana-dex-meteora-sued-alleged-pump-dump-meme-coin-launch"},{"date":"2025-07","event":"Amended complaint filed in Hurlock v. Kelsier Labs.","source":"Burwick Law","source_url":"https://www.burwick.law/active-cases/m3m3-and-libra-token-lawsuit-hurlock-v-kelsier"},{"date":"2026-09-29","event":"S.D.N.Y. dismisses the LIBRA/M3M3 class action and denies leave to amend; the court states it made no finding on whether misconduct 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 September 29, 2026, US District Judge Jennifer L. Rochon of the Southern District of New York granted every motion to dismiss"}],"sources_used":[{"url":"https://x.com/MeteoraAG/status/1864360417587548654","name":"Meteora on X: M3M3 turns the race to dump into a race to stake","type":"social_media","archive_url":null,"credibility":3,"archive_timestamp":null},{"url":"https://x.com/MeteoraAG/status/1864638350998819260","name":"Meteora on X: M3M3 stake-to-earn guide","type":"social_media","archive_url":null,"credibility":3,"archive_timestamp":null},{"url":"https://cryptorank.io/news/feed/8aa43-solana-staking-m3m3-meteora-investments","name":"New Solana staking coin M3M3 on Meteora draws investments, but unstaking may be a problem - Cryptorank","type":"news_article","archive_url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20261002152418/https://cryptorank.io/news/feed/8aa43-solana-staking-m3m3-meteora-investments","credibility":2,"archive_timestamp":"2026-10-02T15:24:18+00:00"},{"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 $69m M3M3 token crash - Crypto.news","type":"news_article","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20260921062205/https://crypto.news/class-action-targets-meteora-and-kelsier-execs-over-69m-m3m3-token-crash/","credibility":2,"archive_timestamp":"2026-09-21T06:22:05+00:00"},{"url":"https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/m3m3","name":"M3M3 price page - CoinGecko","type":"other","archive_url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20261002174444/https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/m3m3","credibility":2,"archive_timestamp":"2026-10-02T17:44:44+00:00"},{"url":"https://decrypt.co/315860/solana-dex-meteora-sued-alleged-pump-dump-meme-coin-launch","name":"Solana DEX Meteora Sued Over Alleged Pump-and-Dump Meme Coin Launch - Decrypt","type":"news_article","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20260930111516/https://decrypt.co/315860/solana-dex-meteora-sued-alleged-pump-dump-meme-coin-launch","credibility":2,"archive_timestamp":"2026-09-30T11:15:16+00:00"},{"url":"https://www.burwick.law/active-cases/m3m3-and-libra-token-lawsuit-hurlock-v-kelsier","name":"$M3M3 and $LIBRA Token Lawsuit: Hurlock v. 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