Argentina, already shaken by a persistent economic crisis, now sees its president Javier Milei plunge into a legal storm linked to the Crypto Libra. While Milei, cantor of libertarianism, promised a monetary revolution, a promotional tweet erased in precipitation and opaque transactions sparked a resounding investigation. Between speculative flights, suspicions of Pump-And-Dump and criminal procedures, the Libra affair reveals the shadow areas of a crypto ecosystem in search of credibility.
Libra: the dazzling ascent and the suspicious fall
It all starts with a tweet. On February 17, 2025, Javier Milei, a follower of shattering statements, praising the merits of Libra, the same corner based on Solana. “The world wants to invest in Argentina,” he claims to its millions of subscribers.
Result ? The value of the Libra flies away, reaching a market capitalization of $ 4.5 billion in a few hours. A spectacular, but ephemeral performance.
However, behind this euphoria hides a disturbing mechanics. A handful of wallets holding most of the Libra tokens are liquidated shortly after the peak. Hayden Davis, entrepreneur linked to Kelsier, admits having garnered $ 100 million thanks to the project. A coincidence? For prosecutors, it is obvious: Libra resembles an organized dumping operation, taking advantage of the presidential influence.
Milei quickly distances himself. His promotional tweet is deleted, and his lawyers invoke a “ignorance of crypto mechanisms”.
Too late. The complaints for fraud accumulate, and the prosecutor Eduardo Taiano demands the freezing of the assets linked to Libra – nearly $ 100 million in crypto – as well as access to erased publications. Argentinian regulators, supported by Interpol, now track these funds through international exchanges.
Crypto, politics and contradictions: the double game of Milei
Javier Milei, often praised by bitcoiners, appears here in a paradoxical light. Has the man who compares the state to a “mafia gang” succumbed to the sirens of Shitcoins? In reality, his support for Libra – a token without real utility, unlike Bitcoin – shocks purists. The maximalists denounce a betrayal of the libertarian principles, where the crypto would come down to a speculative tool rather than a monetary revolution.
This affair also raises new legal issues. How to continue a president in office for fraudulent promotion of a decentralized asset? Taiano Building on international cooperation, demanding platforms like Binance or Kraken that they block suspicious transactions. A technical and political challenge, in a country where Crypto legislation remains unclear.
The Libra investigation could mark a turning point for crypto in Argentina-and beyond. If Milei also escapes direct sanctions, the frost of funds and judicial pressures illustrate an increasing desire to regulate a sector perceived as a jungle. However, as shown in the example of Salvador, where Nayib Bukele persists in buying bitcoin despite the warnings of the IMF, states oscillate between repression and adoption.
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