Ben Chow
| Ben Chow | |
|---|---|
| Person | |
| Also known as | Benjamin Chow |
| Role | founder |
| Known for | Meteora co-founder who resigned after the LIBRA collapse; a class action against him was dismissed in 2026 |
Ben Chow (Benjamin Chow) is a co-founder and former project lead of Meteora, the Solana liquidity protocol. He resigned in February 2025 after the collapse of Libra, whose pools were on Meteora. A US class action that accused him of orchestrating several memecoin launches was dismissed with prejudice in September 2026.[1][2]
Background[edit]
Chow led Meteora, a sister project of Jupiter whose founder, Meow, announced his resignation. In December 2024 Meteora launched M3M3, a memecoin AMM platform.[1]
Notable trades[edit]
M3M3
Chow said he asked Hayden Davis and Kelsier Ventures to launch a token on M3M3 as a case study, and that this led him to see them as trustworthy.[1]
Melania Meme
Chow acknowledged referring Davis and Kelsier to other projects as token deployers, including MELANIA. He said Meteora did not buy, receive or manage MELANIA tokens on the side. In a video call with DefiTuna founder Dhirk he said he felt sick about giving Davis MELANIA and that he had enabled someone he should not have.[1]
Libra
The LIBRA team created its liquidity pools on Meteora. Chow said "we had no involvement in the project at all beyond providing IT support", and that neither he nor Meteora held LIBRA tokens or leaked information.[1]
Controversies[edit]
- 2025-02-17: Meow said Chow had stepped down, citing "a lack of judgement and care about some of the core aspects of the project". He stood by Chow's claim of no financial impropriety and said Jupiter and Meteora would hire an independent third party to investigate.[1]
- 2025-08-20: Decrypt reported that Judge Jennifer Rochon lifted a freeze on $57.6 million in USDC held in wallets of Chow and Davis. She found they were not "evasive actors" and said she was "skeptical" the plaintiffs would succeed. Chow's lawyer called the claims "untested and meritless".[3]
- 2025-10: an amended class-action complaint alleged that Chow was "at the center of the enterprise" and assembled a team including Meow and the Davis family. It covered LIBRA, MELANIA, ENRON, TRUST and M3M3 and called Melania Trump "merely the window dressing". The Block reported no response from Chow or Meteora.[4]
- 2026-09-29: Judge Rochon dismissed the amended complaint with prejudice. She found that allegations of Chow's technical help, his knowledge of the LIBRA launch and Meteora's fees did not adequately establish fraudulent intent. She held that the complaint did not show Meteora was an association or partnership capable of being sued, and refused to add MELANIA, ENRON and TRUST. The ruling did not decide whether the alleged conduct happened.[2]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Meteora co-founder Ben Chow resigns amid Libra scandal, The Block, 2025-02-18
- ^ LIBRA lawsuit dismissed as court rejects claims against Meteora and Chow, crypto.news, 2026-10-02
- ^ Libra Promoters Regain Access to $57.6 Million in Crypto After Judge Unfreezes Assets, Decrypt, 2025-08-20
- ^ Class action lawsuit claims Ben Chow orchestrated Melania, LIBRA memecoin fraud, The Block, 2025-10-23