Outside Source
Argentina’s Libra scandal continues to unfold, and Bitcoin’s two-month crab walk has raised “price suppression” concerns among industry leaders, such as Samson Mow.
Newsletter
Retail crypto investor sentiment was hit by another multi-billion memecoin meltdown, previously endorsed by Argentine President Javier Milei, who faces political pressure from his opposition after his endorsement led to a rug pull that erased over $4 billion from the token’s market capitalization within hours.
In the wider crypto space, Jan3 CEO Samson Mow warned of a potential “price suppression” for Bitcoin, which continued its crab walk in a price range that “looks very manufactured.”
Milei risks impeachment after endorsing $107M Libra rug pull
Argentine President Javier Milei is facing calls for impeachment after endorsing a cryptocurrency project that collapsed in what analysts are calling a massive insider scam.
The Solana-native Libra (LIBRA) token started its rally on Feb. 14, shortly after Milei posted about the project on X, formerly Twitter. His now-deleted post included a website and contract address for the token, which was a “private project” dedicated to “encouraging the growth of the Argentine economy.”
Milei’s deleted X post. Source: Kobeissi Letter
The Libra token briefly rose to a peak market capitalization of $4.56 billion at 10:30 pm UTC on Feb. 14 before falling over 94% to a $257 million market cap in just 11 hours after the token debuted for trading on decentralized exchanges, Dexscreener data shows.
LIBRA/USDC, all-time chart. Source: Dexscreener
Milei may now face impeachment after Argentina’s fintech chamber acknowledged that the case may be a rug pull.
“This scandal, which embarrasses us on an international scale, requires us to launch an impeachment request against the president,” opposition lawmaker Leandro Santoro told Reuters, according to a Feb. 16 report.
After the token’s collapse on Feb. 15, Milei issued a statement on X, noting that he was not aware of the details of the project when he endorsed it and that he has “no connection whatsoever” with the “private enterprise” that launched the token.
Bitcoin’s price movement ‘looks very manufactured’ — Samson Mow
Bitcoin’s price action is raising concerns about possible market manipulation as the cryptocurrency continues trading in a tight range despite billions of dollars in institutional inflows.
Bitcoin (BTC) has been range-bound for over two months, trading between the $92,400 support and $106,500 resistance since Dec. 18, Cointelegraph Markets Pro data shows.
BTC/USD, 1-day chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView
Bitcoin managed to briefly escape this range after US President Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, when it rose to a $109,000 all-time high before dropping back into its previous range.
Bitcoin’s range-bound price action may be manufactured based on the trajectory of the past months, according to Samson Mow, CEO of Jan3 and founder of Pixelmatic.
“It seems like it’s some sort of price suppression,” said Mow during a panel discussion at Consensus Hong Kong 2025, adding:
“If you look at the price movement, we peak, and then we stay steady and chop sideways. And it’s good, you can say it’s consolidation, but it just looks very manufactured.”
“The very tight range in which you’re trading just doesn’t look natural at all,” Mow added.
“Bitcoin: The Basis for a New Financial System.” Source: Cointelegraph
Despite Bitcoin’s temporary lack of upside, industry watchers remain optimistic about Bitcoin’s trajectory for 2025, with price predictions ranging from $160,000 to above $180,000.
Vitalik Buterin criticizes crypto’s moral shift toward gambling
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin voiced concerns over what he described as a “moral reversal” in the crypto industry, particularly regarding criticism of Ethereum’s stance on blockchain gambling.
In an Ask Me Anything (AMA) session on Feb. 20, Buterin was asked to share his frustrations with the crypto industry in the past year. He highlighted his disappointment with the backlash against Ethereum for not embracing blockchain-based casinos:
“Perhaps the most disappointing thing for me recently was when someone said that Ethereum is bad and intolerant because we don’t respect the ‘casinos’ on the blockchain enough, and other chains are happy to accept any application, so they are better.”
Buterin added that if the blockchain community had this kind of “moral reversal,” he would no longer be interested in participating in the blockchain space. Despite this concern, he noted that his experiences with community members offline have provided a different perspective.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin’s post at the decentralized social network Tako. Source: Tako
Pig butchering scams stole $5.5B from crypto investors in 2024 — Cyvers
Pig butchering scams have emerged as one of the most pervasive threats to cryptocurrency investors, with losses in the billions of dollars across 200,000 identified cases in 2024, according to a report from onchain security firm Cyvers, shared exclusively with Cointelegraph.
Pig butchering is a type of phishing scheme that involves prolonged and complex manipulation tactics to trick investors into willingly sending their assets to fraudulent crypto addresses.
Pig butchering schemes on the Ethereum network cost the industry over $5.5 billion across 200,000 identified cases in 2024, according to the report.
Among the top 10 most affected platforms, Cyvers identified three of the five largest centralized exchanges (CEXs), a crypto-friendly bank and an institutional trading platform.
Pig butchering losses by platforms. Source: Cyvers
The industry is still recovering from 2024 when crypto hackers stole over $2.3 billion worth of digital assets across 165 incidents, a 40% increase over 2023, when losses totaled $1.69 billion.
Pig butchering schemes are “by far the biggest threat,” even compared to crypto hacks, according to Michael Pearl, vice president of GTM strategy at Cyvers.
24% of top 200 cryptos at 1-year low as analysts eye market capitulation
Nearly a quarter of the 200 largest cryptocurrencies have sunk to their lowest price levels in over a year, prompting analysts to predict a potential market capitulation and a possible rebound for altcoins.
The figures come from data shared by Jamie Coutts, chief crypto analyst at Real Vision. In a Feb. 19 X post, Coutts noted:
“The Feb 7 washout pushed 24% of the Top 200 to 365-day lows—the highest since Aug 5, 2024 (28%), which marked last year’s pullback low.”
“In bear markets, >30% readings are common before capitulation. The question: are we in a bear or bull market,” he added.
Top 200 cryptocurrencies. Source: Jamie Coutts
The current downturn may signal an incoming market capitulation, according to Juan Pellicer, senior research analyst at crypto intelligence platform IntoTheBlock.
“The recent market correction, with significant liquidations (especially in assets like Solana) and a drop in total crypto market cap to $3.13 trillion, points toward possible capitulation as overleveraged positions are flushed out,” Pellicer told Cointelegraph.
In financial markets, capitulation refers to investors selling their positions in a panic, leading to a significant price decline and signaling an imminent market bottom before the start of the next uptrend.
DeFi market overview
According to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView, most of the 100 largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization ended the week in the green.
The intellectual-property-focused blockchain Story’s (IP) coin rose over 173% as the week’s biggest gainer, followed by Sonic (S), previously Fantom (FTM), which rose over 60% as the week’s second-biggest gainer.
Total value locked in DeFi. Source: DefiLlama
Thanks for reading our summary of this week’s most impactful DeFi developments. Join us next Friday for more stories, insights and education regarding this dynamically advancing space.
This article first appeared at Cointelegraph.com News
