Cryptocurrency mogul Dave Portnoy‘s digital wallet took a brutal $5.34 million hit after the LIBRA token crashed spectacularly, wiping out 94% of its value. The high-profile crypto disaster unfolded shortly after Argentine President Javier Milei‘s endorsement and subsequent deletion of a supportive social media post about the token.
The drama began when Portnoy received 6-6.5 million LIBRA tokens as payment for promotion. He later returned these tokens to founder Hayden Davis after being asked to keep the compensation under wraps. Not done with LIBRA, Portnoy then purchased additional tokens separately – a decision that would come back to haunt him when the market crashed.
The token’s meteoric rise to a $4.56 billion market cap proved short-lived. When the dust settled, over 40,000 investors found themselves caught in what many are calling a classic pump-and-dump scheme. Talk about a crypto nightmare.
From sky-high hopes to rock-bottom reality, LIBRA’s $4.56B plunge left 40,000 investors holding the bag in crypto’s latest nightmare.
In a February 16 X spaces discussion, Portnoy came clean about returning the promotional tokens but admitted to holding onto his personally purchased ones despite the devastating drop. He maintained that Davis hadn’t intentionally deceived investors, chalking up the disaster to unexpected complications with President Milei’s involvement.
The plot thickened when Portnoy’s wallet reportedly received a $5 million reimbursement from an account linked to $MELANIA. Meanwhile, President Milei faces potential impeachment over his role in “Libragate,” with opposition politicians calling it an “unprecedented scandal.” The president’s defense? He claims he merely “spread the word” about LIBRA rather than actively promoting it.
The fallout has been swift and severe. Multiple fraud lawsuits have been filed against Milei, legal investigations are underway, and the incident has sparked intense debate about cryptocurrency market manipulation and regulation.
For the crypto community, it’s another sobering reminder that when digital currency dreams turn into nightmares, the wake-up call can be expensive.
The incident highlights how celebrity endorsements can significantly influence cryptocurrency prices and market sentiment, often leading to volatile trading patterns.
