#MileiMemeCoinControversy Milei’s Crypto Debacle: Memecoin Hype Sparks Scandal, Lawsuits, and Political Turmoil

Argentina’s libertarian firebrand president, Javier Milei, is facing the biggest political crisis of his tenure after an ill-fated brush with the meme coin trenches. A meme coin called Libra, which Milei acknowledged meeting with the creators of, has triggered a wave of lawsuits, market losses, and even calls for impeachment.

The crypto news cycle is worsening as meme coins suck the market dry. Speaking publicly for the first time, Milei distanced himself from accusations of market manipulation. He insisted that his social media promotion of the token wasn’t an endorsement for investment but rather an effort to highlight a crypto-based initiative aimed at supporting Argentine entrepreneurs.

“I’m not a crypto expert,” Milei told Todo Noticias in a Monday night interview. “My expertise is economic growth, with or without money. As someone passionate about technology and its potential to fund projects, I simply shared the idea.”

Yet, his endorsement—intentional or not—set off a speculative frenzy. On Friday night, after Milei directed his massive online following to the Libra token, its price quadrupled within hours, briefly pushing the market cap to an eye-watering $4 billion.

Economy Minister Dismisses ‘Tiny’ Crypto World

As pressure mounted, Economy Minister Luis Caputo was the first to break the government’s silence Monday evening, attempting to downplay the incident as a niche misunderstanding rather than outright misconduct.

“Cryptocurrencies are a tiny, infinitesimal world. It’s a specialist domain that’s incredibly difficult to grasp,” Caputo stated. “I don’t understand crypto either, and it’s been explained to me 800,000 times.”

Despite his attempts to reassure investors, markets weren’t convinced. The S&P Merval Index suffered its biggest one-day drop since July, plummeting 5.6% as Buenos Aires traders dumped shares in top Argentine firms.