Editing Meteora

**Meteora** is a [[Solana]] decentralized exchange and liquidity protocol, formerly Mercurial Finance, whose pools hosted the launches of [[Official Trump|TRUMP]], [[Melania Meme|MELANIA]] and [[Libra|LIBRA]], and whose token **MET** was airdropped on 23 October 2025.[^1][^2][^3][^4]

## Lore
### History
In December 2022 Mercurial, a Solana stablecoin DEX, said it would relaunch as Meteora and replace its MER token, partly to distance itself from the collapsed FTX and Alameda Research.[^1] The plan cut insiders' unvested tokens by 50% and blacklisted a hacker who had taken about $800,000 of MER after FTX's bankruptcy; it was announced by [[Ben Chow]], then described as a [[Jupiter]] co-founder.[^1] Meow, Jupiter's pseudonymous founder, also co-founded Meteora.[^3]

### Role in launches
Meteora hosted the January 2025 launch of TRUMP and received about 5% of the token's trading fees, according to CoinDesk.[^2] Token teams for LIBRA created their [[Liquidity pool|liquidity pools]] on Meteora.[^3] Launchpads also use it as a graduation venue: tokens on Believe, the [[Launch Coin]] platform, move to a Meteora AMM pool once they pass a $100,000 market cap.[^5]

### MET token
MET launched on 23 October 2025 through an airdrop to users and traded at a $263.2 million market cap that day, according to CoinGecko data cited by Decrypt.[^4] Wallets that Arkham labels as belonging to the Official Melania Meme entity received about $1.23 million in MET, and wallets tied to the TRUMP token about $4.2 million.[^4] Meteora co-lead Soju said a screening with Dethective and Rugcheck removed more than 10 million MET meant for [[Hayden Davis]], but missed 750,000 MET.[^4]

## Timeline
- 2022-12-23: Mercurial announces relaunch as Meteora[^1]
- 2025-01: TRUMP launches on Meteora[^2]
- 2025-02-17: Ben Chow resigns after the LIBRA collapse[^3]
- 2025-04-23: class action over the M3M3 token names Meteora and Chow[^6]
- 2025-10-21: amended complaint in *Hurlock v. [[Kelsier Ventures]]* filed[^7]
- 2025-10-23: MET token generation event and airdrop[^4]

## Key wallets
- melania-liquidity1.sol and melania-liquidity2.sol: received about $784,200 and $454,724 in MET in the October 2025 airdrop and quickly moved the funds, according to Arkham data reported by Decrypt.[^4]

## Controversies
In February 2025 Chow said neither he nor Meteora received LIBRA tokens or insider information, and that Meteora provided only IT support; he acknowledged referring Hayden Davis and Kelsier Ventures to a handful of projects as token deployers, including MELANIA, and asking Davis in December 2024 to launch a token on Meteora's M3M3 platform.[^3] Meow announced Chow's resignation, citing "a lack of judgement and care", while saying he stood by Chow's account of no financial impropriety.[^3]

An April 2025 class action alleges that 150 insider wallets took about 95% of M3M3's supply within 20 minutes of launch and that investors lost at least $69 million.[^6] An amended complaint in *Hurlock v. Kelsier Ventures*, filed in October 2025 against Chow, Meteora, Kelsier Ventures and members of the Davis family, alleges that Chow was "at the center of the enterprise" behind at least 15 tokens, focusing on LIBRA, MELANIA, ENRON, TRUST and M3M3, and calls Melania Trump and Javier Milei "merely the window dressing".[^7] The allegations have not been ruled on.[^7]

## See also
- [[pump.fun]]
- [[LetsBonk]]
- [[Raydium]]
- [[SunPump]]
- [[Fomo]]
- [[Hyperliquid]]
- [[Alon Cohen]]
- [[Ben Pasternak]]

## References
1. [Solana DeFi Project Mercurial to Relaunch as 'Meteora,' Replace MER Token](https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/12/23/solana-defi-project-mercurial-to-relaunch-as-meteora-replace-mer-token), CoinDesk, 2022-12-23
2. [Trump Family-Linked Firms Profited $320M on Memecoin Despite 87% Decline Since Day One](https://www.coindesk.com/business/2025/05/09/trump-family-profited-usd320m-on-memecoin-despite-87-decline-since-day-one), CoinDesk, 2025-05-09
3. [Meteora co-founder Ben Chow resigns amid Libra scandal](https://www.theblock.co/post/341412/meteora-co-founder-ben-chow-resigns-amid-libra-scandal), The Block, 2025-02-18
4. [Wallets Tied to Melania Trump Meme Coin Airdropped $1.2 Million in Meteora Tokens](https://decrypt.co/345768/wallets-melania-trump-meme-coin-airdropped-1-2-million-meteora-tokens), Decrypt, 2025-10-23
5. [Jito validator tips hit $3.6 million daily as Believe ecosystem siphons activity from Pump.fun](https://www.theblock.co/post/354859/jito-validator-tips-hit-3-6-million-daily-as-believe-ecosystem-siphons-activity-from-pump-fun), The Block, 2025-05-19
6. [Solana DEX Meteora Sued Over Alleged Pump-and-Dump Meme Coin Launch](https://decrypt.co/315860/solana-dex-meteora-sued-alleged-pump-dump-meme-coin-launch), Decrypt, 2025-04-23
7. [Class action lawsuit claims Ben Chow orchestrated Melania, LIBRA memecoin fraud](https://www.theblock.co/post/375832/ben-chow-melania-libra-memecoin), The Block, 2025-10-23
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