Milei faces fraud charges after promoting LIBRA, which quickly collapsed.
Developers withdrew $107 million, leading to accusations of fraudulent behavior.
The incident raises fears of unregulated assets, leading to calls for tighter regulations.
Argentina’s President Javier Milei is under fire after promoting a cryptocurrency called LIBRA. The token plummeted shortly after his endorsement, and now he’s facing serious backlash.
Opposition lawmakers, such as Leandro Santoro, are even pushing for the impeachment of President Milei, pointing out possible irregularities in the situation.
The Associated Press reports that lawyers in Argentina have filed fraud charges against the president. They accuse him of promoting LIBRA, a token they say is involved in a “rug pull” scam. This is where developers pump up the price of a cryptocurrency and then back out, leaving regular investors with nothing.
Jonatan Baldiviezo, lawyer and plaintiff, said bluntly: “Within this illicit association, the crime of fraud was committed, in which the president’s actions were essential.”
Milei launched LIBRA as an economical solution
On February 14, 2025, Milei took to social media platform X and talked about LIBRA. He called it a private venture that would boost Argentina’s struggling economy, especially for small businesses.
Following his post, LIBRA’s value soared, reaching a market cap of $4.56 billion. But the excitement didn’t last long. Within hours, the token crashed, losing over 90% of its value and wiping out over $4 billion in market cap.
Further investigations showed that the team behind LIBRA, specifically linked to the KIP protocol, withdrew over $107 million in liquidity shortly after the coin’s launch. However, the Office of the President said that Milei had no involvement in any part of the cryptocurrency’s development.
“The president shared a post on his personal accounts announcing the launch of the KIP Protocol project, as he does daily with many entrepreneurs who want to launch projects in Argentina to create jobs and attract investment,” the statement said.
Crypto community fears stricter regulations
Milei, who has been seen as a libertarian leader and a staunch defender of free-market capitalism, is now being hammered for his role in this mess.
His endorsement of cryptocurrency and its collapse has raised further concerns about the risks associated with unregulated digital assets.
Critics argue that incidents like this give regulators more reason to intervene.
