Many Argentines, who hoped for an economic renewal with Javier Milei, begin to be disillusioned. Their president, self -proclaimed hero of the fight against inflation, is found today at the center of a major financial scandal. After praising the merits of the crypto libra on X, he saw his value fly to more than $ 4.5 billion … before collapsing by 94 % when Milei removed his post. Accusations of fraud, suspicions of “Pump and Dump”, judicial investigations and threats of dismissal: the Argentinian president is today in the eye of the cyclone.
Crypto scandal in Argentina: a presidential “rug sweater”?
The case begins with a fanfare on February 14. A simple post by Javier Milei on X explodes the value of token libraproject presented as A way to relaunch the Argentine economy via the blockchain. In a few hours, the token reached unot capitalization of $ 4.56 billion.
General euphoria … until Milei erases his post. Panic on the markets: The token libra collapses by 94 %and investors see their savings going up in smoke.
Behind this fall, Suspicious movements are detected. According to Dex Screener, the seven main traders in Libra have made an average of $ 4.95 million each.
From the first hours, the project insiders would have liquidated more than $ 87 million, leaving the lambda investors on the tile.
“” The Joda! “(” The party is over! ), Indigines the lawyer Agustín Rombolá, who files a complaint for swindle and market manipulation.
Faced with this chaos, Milei tries to play the transparency card. He asked the anti-corruption office ofinvestigateensuring that he was unaware of the details of the project.
But hard to believe in the president's total innocence when we learn that he met the representatives of Kip Protocol, linked to Libra, last October.
Crypto trading in the heart of chaos
Behind this affair, everyone in crypto trading is pointed out. Libra already had everything dubious project : Creation of the website a few hours before the launch, lack of clear information on the Tokenomics, and above all, a large part of the tokens directly salable from the start.
The figures speak for themselves:
- $ 57.6 million in USDC cash-out by initiates;
- 249,671 of Solana parts withdrawn ($ 49.7 million);
- Capitalization that goes from 4.5 billion to almost nothing in 5 hours.
Hayden Mark Davis, project advisor, even accuses Milei ofhave triggered panic.
“” I don't feel comfortable entrusting these funds to the Milei or Kip team He says. A low blow that does not help the situation.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency “APE” reacts with philosophy to the loss of his fortune:
“” Look forward to meeting Milei in person to discuss it! ».
Javier Milei weakened by complaints and the opposition
While the Libra affair makes the headlines, Milei must now face A real political storm. Several lawyers, including Marcos Zelaya and Jonatan Baldiviezofiled a criminal complaint against the president for fraud and violation of the law on public ethics.
The opposition, for its part, does not hesitate to throw oil on the fire. The Leandro Santoro deputy is asking its dismissalbelieving that ” This scandal covers us with shame internationally ».
On X, anger rises among investors. Some denounce a huge scam, believing that he was trapped by a mounted blow. Others are mourning the express collapse of Libra, comparing its fall to a real financial magic round.
For the time being, No judge has yet been appointed to instruct the casebut the pressure continues to climb on Milei.
However, Javier Milei embodied the hope of a regenerated Argentina, released from the vice of inflation. Even Elon Musk saw him in him a wind of renewal. In May 2024, the billionaire still recommended investing in Argentina, after a new meeting with the president. But after the Libra affair, it will take more than a tweet to restore the confidence of investors.
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