What’s Milei’s “Libragate” controversy?
An X tweet by Argentine President Javier Milei resulted in a crypto controversy threatening his political place. It began when Milei endorsed the token LIBRA on X, describing it as a venture centered on boosting financial progress by supporting small companies and startups.
Given Milei’s 3.8 million followers and the credibility he brings in as a president, the token’s worth surged from close to zero to $5, briefly reaching a $4-billion market capitalization.
Nonetheless, the endorsement was met with public backlash, main Milei to delete the publish simply hours later. This triggered an enormous sell-off, inflicting LIBRA’s worth to drop quickly and wiping out hundreds of thousands in investor funds. The sudden rise and fall of LIBRA raised concerns over potential manipulation and the dangers of political figures influencing risky crypto markets.
Viva La Libertad Venture, which is related to the LIBRA token, contains Milei’s well-liked catchphrase La Libertad (which means “lengthy reside freedom” in Spanish) within the area title. The venture’s acknowledged goal was to channel funding for Argentine buyers and residents in a decentralized method. Its token distribution earmarked 50% tokens for Argentina’s progress, 30% for liquidity and 20% for treasury.
Workforce behind LIBRA token
Hayden Davis is a 28-year-old American crypto developer and CEO of Kelsier Ventures and had a major function within the launch of the controversial memecoin LIBRA. He mentioned he was an adviser to Milei, although the latter’s workplace denied any such connection. Davis can be mentioned to have a job within the launch of Melania Trump’s memecoin, MELANIA.
Nonetheless, KIP Protocol denied their involvement in a press release launched on Feb. 24 by way of its X deal with. The corporate acknowledged that it was invited by Mauricio Novelli on Feb. 13, 2025, for assist in financing Argentine small and midsize enterprises however had nothing to do with the token’s creation.
Dave Portnoy, founding father of Barstool Sports activities, mentioned he was approached by somebody related to the LIBRA memecoin launch to debate potential promotional alternatives. A crypto agency headed by an nameless “Meow” was additionally concerned within the launch.
Do you know? The LIBRA incident has drawn comparisons with the launch of the TRUMP coin, which is related to US President Donald Trump. That enterprise additionally concerned a memecoin, which skilled a speedy value improve adopted by a pointy decline.
Accusations towards President Milei regarding LIBRA memecoin rip-off
Argentine President Javier Milei is dealing with severe accusations following his endorsement of the cryptocurrency LIBRA. Critics have labeled the incident a possible rugpull scam, alleging that buyers had been lured in by Milei’s assist for the token and invested within the token earlier than it collapsed, leaving many with nugatory cash.
Lawyer Jonatan Baldiviezo, alongside Marcos Zelaya, engineer María Eva Koutsovitis and economist Claudio Lozano, a former head of Argentina’s Central Financial institution, filed a lawsuit towards President Milei, accusing him of fraud.
Baldiviezo claimed his actions had been instrumental in an “illicit affiliation” with the promoters of the coin. The non-governmental group Observatorio del Derecho a la Ciudad echoed these considerations, submitting a case that accused Milei of enjoying a key function in a scheme that allegedly brought about over 40,000 buyers to lose greater than $4 billion.
Even Davis, one in all LIBRA’s builders, claimed that Milei’s abrupt withdrawal of assist contributed to the token’s crash, implying betrayal by the president’s staff.
Latin American leaders additionally expressed concern, with Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, stating that “this can be very severe if confirmed, notably relating to a president’s authority to advertise one thing non-public.”
Reportedly, he’s below investigation in Spain over his involvement within the LIBRA cryptocurrency scandal. Accusations embrace fraudulent operations, market manipulation and insider trading after LIBRA’s worth crashed, leading to important losses for buyers.
How did Milei put up his protection?
In response to the accusations, Milei and his workplace firmly denied any wrongdoing. An announcement from the president’s workplace emphasised that Milei was not concerned in LIBRA’s growth and that his social media posts merely mirrored his broader assist for entrepreneurial ventures.
The assertion famous that Milei frequently promotes enterprise initiatives as a part of his free-market philosophy. His endorsement of the KIP Protocol, the builders behind LIBRA, was part of the broader coverage.
An nameless authorities official defended Milei in communication with Reuters, arguing that if anybody had been deceived on this state of affairs, it was the president himself. The official emphasised that Milei typically helps non-public initiatives and can proceed to take action. In a social media publish, Milei dismissed the controversy as a politically motivated assault by his opponents.
Regardless of these defenses, public skepticism about Milei stays excessive. Critics argue that Milei’s huge affect on social media ought to include duty, particularly relating to monetary endorsements. The scandal has sparked a broader debate on the moral obligations of political figures within the risky crypto house, with many questioning whether or not Milei’s promotion was reckless or intentional.
Do you know? Dealing with criticism, Milei responded by accusing his political adversaries, whom he disparagingly labeled “filthy rats of the political caste,” of trying to take advantage of the state of affairs for their very own malicious functions.
Investigations into the scandal and doable repercussions
The fallout from President Milei’s endorsement of the cryptocurrency LIBRA has triggered a proper investigation and calls for his impeachment. Federal Choose María Servini is main the probe, inspecting whether or not Milei engaged in fraudulent actions associated to the token’s sudden rise and crash.
Notably, the venture is below investigation by the US Division of Justice for potential fraud and market manipulation. The probe, led by the fraud part, could increase to contain businesses just like the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Securities and Change Fee and Division of Homeland Safety.
Whereas some opposition politicians have known as for an impeachment trial, such an final result appears unlikely. Nonetheless, the controversy may injury Milei’s financial credibility, particularly as Argentina approaches the 2025 midterm elections.
Along with the judiciary, Milei’s administration has established its personal Investigation Job Unit (UTI), composed of representatives from monetary, authorized and Anti-Cash Laundering organizations. The Anti-Corruption Workplace has additionally been activated to probe potential misconduct by authorities officers, together with the president. The UTI will examine the launch of LIBRA, specializing in the people and entities behind the venture.
Do you know? This crypto scandal threatens to break Milei’s public picture, which he cultivated as a reform-minded economist promising to manage Argentina’s rampant inflation and political corruption.
Is LIBRA a rug pull?
LIBRA’s controversy mirrors a basic rug pull, the place builders artificially inflated the token’s worth solely to drain its liquidity, leaving buyers with huge losses — echoing incidents like Hawk Tuah (HAWK) and Froggy (FROGGY), the place hype masked hidden dangers.
Rug pulls are widespread in decentralized finance (DeFi) initiatives the place liquidity swimming pools play an necessary function. Scammers typically create hype across the token utilizing social media, influencers and generally bogus endorsements. When many buyers purchase the cryptocurrency and the value skyrockets, the builders dump their shares, making large earnings and leaving buyers holding nugatory tokens.
Whereas Milei’s “Libragate” scandal is suspected of being a rug pull, a number of high-profile rug pulls have occurred in cryptocurrency. For instance, Hawk Tuah (HAWK) made headlines after a rug pull incident. Launched by social media movie star Haliey Welch on Dec. 4, 2024, its worth crashed from $500 million to $60 million inside simply 20 minutes. The incident sparked widespread backlash from each the net group and authorized authorities.
Equally, Froggy (FROGGY) grew to become one of the outsized rug pulls of 2024. Its playful branding and guarantees of fast earnings attracted many buyers. Builders fueled pleasure on platforms like X and Reddit, presenting it as a community-driven venture with sturdy backing.
However as soon as sufficient funds had been gathered, they drained the liquidity, inflicting the token’s worth to break down. Froggy (FROGGY) in the end suffered a devastating 99.95% drop from $0.00001577, its peak value.
