While Argentina’s President Javier Milei has built his reputation on bold economic moves, his latest venture into cryptocurrency has exploded in his face. The president’s social media endorsement of $LIBRA cryptocurrency, supposedly aimed at boosting Argentina’s economy, turned into a nightmare when the token’s value crashed spectacularly within hours of his promotion.
The fallout has been swift and brutal. Judge María Servini of Federal Court No. 1 is now investigating potential fraud and criminal association charges, while over 100 complaints have flooded Argentina’s judiciary system. Some angry investors have even taken their grievances to US courts. A local NGO filed lawsuit against the president for alleged scam activities. Unlike fiat-backed stablecoins, $LIBRA had no real asset reserves to maintain its value. Talk about a mess.
Argentina’s legal system faces an avalanche of complaints as Judge Servini probes a massive crypto scandal reaching both local and US courts.
The numbers are staggering. $LIBRA’s market cap hit $4.6 billion before crashing, leaving an estimated 40,000 people holding worthless tokens. The scandal, dubbed “cryptogate” by media outlets, has hammered Argentina’s benchmark S&P Merval stock index, which tumbled 5.6%. A confirmed $107 million vanished in what looks suspiciously like a classic “rug pull” scam.
Milei’s damage control hasn’t exactly been smooth. He quickly deleted his endorsement, claimed it was all a mistake, and insisted he acted in good faith. But that hasn’t stopped opposition parties from calling for his testimony before Congress or former president Cristina Fernández Kirchner from branding him a “crypto-scammer.” The Unión por la Patria has already initiated steps toward impeachment proceedings.
The investigation is gathering steam. The Anti-Corruption Office has assembled a task force, and investigators want to raid the presidential residence to seize devices. They’re particularly interested in forensically analyzing Milei’s social media accounts.
Meanwhile, Meteora exchange, which also hosted the infamous $Trump meme coin, claims they only provided IT support for $LIBRA.
For Milei’s government, this couldn’t come at a worse time. With midterm elections approaching and his administration facing its biggest reputational crisis yet, the president’s cryptocurrency misadventure has highlighted the wild-west nature of unregulated digital assets. Some political analysts are already calling it a career-defining scandal.
