On February 14, Javier Milei posted a link to the Libra meme coin project on X, touting its dedication to “encouraging the growth of the Argentine economy.”
Javier Milei, the president of Argentina, has been met with calls for impeachment after promoting an alleged scam meme coin project, Libra.
On February 14, Milei posted a link to the project on X, highlighting Libra’s commitment to “encouraging the growth of the Argentine economy” and urged his followers to join the initiative. However, around four hours later, he deleted the tweet and stated, “I was not aware of the details of the project and after having become aware of it I decided not to continue spreading it.” He added that he prefers to focus on promoting productive activity.
During the intervening hours, Libra’s price shot up from single-digit pennies to almost $5 at its peak before decreasing again to below 1 cent.
Now, Milei’s opponents are calling for his impeachment and highlighting the plight of unsuspecting investors who lost money. Meanwhile, Milei denied any wrongdoing and that he influenced unsuspecting investors despite his supporters’ losing money. He also maintained that he prefers to focus on promoting productive activity.
The Argentinian peso loses value daily because of high inflation, and Argentinians convert pesos to dollars or another store of value to keep up with rising costs. As such, the country has the highest adoption rate of cryptocurrencies in the Western Hemisphere, according to Forbes.
“In Argentina, and in a situation like this, [crypto] has an appeal,” said Matías Vernengo, economics professor and director of the Bucknell Institute for Public Policy. “Crypto offers not just a possibility of escaping the devaluation of the peso, but also perhaps making a buck.”
Milei, known for wielding a chainsaw, has been working to bolster the central bank’s reserves and remove the country’s currency controls by 2026. His administration's austerity measures include firing thousands of government workers, shuttering agencies, cutting various subsidies, halting infrastructure projects, and freezing wages and pensions to below inflation.
Despite lower inflation and a smaller gap between the official and black market “Blue Dollar” rates, unemployment and poverty rates increased. As the scandal unfolds, Milei won a victory in the Senate to cancel this year’s primary elections ahead of the October midterm vote, of which he only holds 6 of the 72 seats. He also traveled to the Conservative Political Action Conference where he met with Elon Musk and gifted him a chainsaw.
