Argentina has faced severe economic conditions in recent years, with an inflation rate reaching 287.9% in 2024. The government was forced to cut public spending by 30% and shut down several agencies to alleviate fiscal pressure. Since taking office in 2024, Argentine President Javier Milei has implemented radical economic reforms such as dollarization of the currency, cutting public spending, and selling state assets, but the results have been poor, leading to increased public dissatisfaction.
Event Process
Launch of Meme Coin: On February 15, 2025, Milei announced with great fanfare through his official X account the launch of a Meme coin named LIBRA, claiming it would 'provide financing support for Argentine private enterprises and promote economic growth,' and attached the token's contract address on the Solana blockchain, with the same content released on his Instagram account. After the announcement, the price of LIBRA skyrocketed from $0.01 to $7.8 within 30 minutes, and its market value briefly surpassed $5 billion.
Sharp Decline and Cashing Out: Two hours after launching the coin, the team withdrew $107 million from the liquidity pool through multiple related addresses. According to blockchain analytics platform Bubblemaps, 82% of the LIBRA supply is concentrated in the hands of a suspicious entity. The price of LIBRA subsequently plummeted, causing over 260,000 investors to be liquidated within 24 hours. By February 17, the market value of LIBRA had dwindled to about $590 million, nearly zero.
Presidential Response and Subsequent Reversals: Milei quickly deleted related tweets, stating that he 'only supports private projects' and is not familiar with the technical details. On the evening of February 17, Milei first retweeted a post by Argentine economic and political commentator Dario Epstein about how to purchase LIBRA, leading the market to mistakenly believe Milei was promoting the token again. He then retweeted a clarification post indicating that it was not a promotion, which caused the price of LIBRA to surge and plummet.
Event Impact
Investor Losses: Many investors suffered heavy losses due to the sharp decline in the price of LIBRA.
Impact on Argentina: Argentina's sovereign credit rating has been downgraded by international agencies, damaging the country's image and further exacerbating economic instability and public distrust in the government.
Industry Warning: This incident highlights the risks of the cryptocurrency market and the massive losses investors may face in the absence of regulation and transparency, serving as a wake-up call for global cryptocurrency regulation.
The entire incident reveals absurdities and numerous suspicious aspects. From a human perspective, it is not unreasonable for a president to try to quickly make money to save something, but once you do it, you should own it! After all, having a reputation and fame isn’t that great anyway? A true hero sacrifices personal reputation for the sake of family or country, like Sima Yi, whom I admire. As for Milei, I don't believe he can bring a better future to Argentina; he lacks that determination.
As ordinary people, it's better not to participate in such high-stakes gambles; the odds are that you will be a loser and lose for no apparent reason! This time, it is said that the vast majority of the losses were incurred by Chinese people, so domestic players, if you want to play with these celebrity coins, it’s better to engage in contracts to be honest, at least contracts are within your understanding.
