President Javier Milei of Argentina has strongly denied claims that he helped promote the $LIBRA cryptocurrency, a token whose value went up quickly and then fell dramatically. The controversial event has sparked multiple fraud complaints and legal probes, jeopardizing Milei’s political standing.
In a public interview on February 17, Milei made it clear that even though he had shared a post on social media about $LIBRA, he had nothing to do with the token itself. He said that all he was doing was “spreading the word” about the asset and not pushing it. The cryptocurrency’s value dropped by 94% after Milei removed his post. Its value had gone up to $4 billion at first. Some people think this sudden drop is part of a “pump-and-dump” plan where early investors make money off of buyers who come later.
Even though Milei is being sued and accused, he says he was working in “good faith” and that the problem is between the people who helped launch the token, not the government. He also said that most of the supposed 44,000 investors who were affected were actually bots and played down the number of real people who were impacted. Milei made it clear that he had nothing to do with the project other than a short chat with KIP Protocol employees. KIP Protocol is the company that made the token.
Local media have called the scandal “Libragate,” and it has led to arguments about whether Milei should be impeached. Some opposition politicians say that his actions could justify such a move. Legal complaints, including a well-known lawsuit, accuse the president of fraud, and critics say the situation has hurt Milei’s image.
