KIP Protocol, a Web3 company that builds AI payment infrastructure, disclosed that it was involved in the Libertad project promoted by Argentine President Javier Milei on X, which featured the LIBRA token that collapsed by over 95% within hours of launching.
In a Feb. 15 X space, Julian Peh, CEO and co-founder of KIP Protocol, said that KIP Protocol was the tech consultancy company hired to help distribute project funds to local businesses in Argentina and did not create the token itself.
The CEO also claimed that KIP Protocol did not act as a market maker for the token and did not profit from selling the token. Peh did not provide more details on other entities involved in LIBRA's launch.
In a separate social media post, Peh added that the company still intends to run Project Libertad and support businesses in the South American country as originally promised.
Libra attracted investor attention following a now-deleted post from President Javier Milei, which was pinned to the president’s X page for several hours, endorsing the project as a growth engine for small businesses and startups in Argentina.
Source: KIP Protocol
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Analysts raise serious concerns about Viva La Libertad project
Investors initially feared a social media hack following President Milei’s X post promoting the token, but the project gained more legitimacy in the eyes of market participants following reposts from other Argentine politicians.
President Milei later retracted his support for Viva La Libertad and distanced himself from the token launch, claiming he did not know much about the project.
According to The Kobeissi Letter, a popular market analysis firm and financial newsletter, the project’s website links to a simple Google Form for businesses to apply for funding.
The financial newsletter also found that the project’s website domain was created mere hours before the launch of the token and the domain was only registered for a one-year period.
"There is no public owner information and there are multiple restricted domain statuses," the Kobeissi letter wrote, before asking "Was this project literally created overnight?"
MetaMask now features a phishing warning for the Viva La Libertad Project’s website. Source: MetaMask Phishing Protection
Data from Bubblemaps shows that 50% of the token's supply is currently held in a single wallet.
The onchain analytics firm warned users that at least 82% of the token's supply was unlocked and could be sold at any time.
Bubblemaps noted that this differs from the launch of the TRUMP memecoin in that portions of TRUMP’s token supply are locked for a specified period.
Despite the lock-up period, the token launch from the President of the United States drew legal and political scrutiny from critics who argue that the tokens are an avenue for bribery.
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