Memecoin scandal turns into major problem for Argentinean president

The scandal surrounding the launch of memecoin Libra last week is gaining momentum for Argentine President Javier Milei. The story, as we reported last week, has spread into global media now that the political opposition parties have demanded the resignation of Milei and so many Argentinians lost money due to the launch (and a possible ‘rug pull’) of a memecoin that subsequently fell by 96%.

Last Friday, Argentine President Javier Milei Libra promoted a memecoin on the Solana blockchain. This skyrocketed to a market value of around $4.5 billion in the hours after he posted about it on social media.

Milei refuses to apologize for $LIBRA memecoin scam: “If you went to a casino and lost money, what’s the complaint?”

On promoting the scheme: “I didn’t promote it, I spread it… I used my personal account”

“But you’re the president”

His lawyer then interrupts the interview pic.twitter.com/ojncW9jVDo

— COMBATE |🇵🇷 (@upholdreality) February 18, 2025

Smart contract

However, a few hours later he deleted the original tweet again and claimed he had not been informed correctly about the original project. The value of Libra fell rapidly by some 96%.

By now, the story has also appeared in the Financial Times, The Guardian and people are talking about it on CNN.

Crypto security expert Pablo Sabbatella explained that Milei shared a “smart contract,” a kind of interbank code.

“The first thing I saw was that the website had been registered yesterday (Friday); (which) is typical of a scam,” said Sabbatella. He also indicated that the token was created just minutes before Milei published the message on social media.

“The whales (large holders of the asset) bought at practically nothing. Then the price flies and when it is up, they sell. It is known as pump and dump; that mechanic happened,” explained Sabbatella further.

Milei is now due to get questions about the scandal in parliament as many Argentinians have lost their initial investment. A federal judge has been tasked with deciding whether fraud allegations brought against the president can go ahead.