Argentina’s stock market took a sharp nosedive Monday morning after President Javier Milei faced fraud charges for promoting the LIBRA token late Friday. The S&P Merval dropped by over 5% when markets opened in Buenos Aires on Monday. The index, which tracks the country’s biggest companies, has since rebounded slightly but is still trading 3% lower than when it closed last Friday.
$LIBRA: the timeline of a crypto scandal that’s rocking the Milei governmenthttps://t.co/I9xxOE5Pll
From gnarly questions over the criminal responsibility that goes with memecoins to a who’s-who of the figures involved, here’s what you need to know
My article for @BAHeraldcom
— ???? Estefanía Pozzo (@estipozzo) February 17, 2025
The turmoil began last Friday when President Milei pointed his followers on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to a new token called LIBRA. He claimed the project would “encourage the growth of the Argentine economy by funding small businesses and startups.” A link to a website allowed investors to buy the token. Initially, LIBRA surged in market value to over $4 billion but crashed by nearly 90% within hours of the launch.
Argentina agog after Milei promotes crypto that crashedhttps://t.co/h4sEXnQmKk
The president is facing widespread fraud accusations, with opposition politicians calling for impeachment and the cabinet in crisis mode
— ???? Estefanía Pozzo (@estipozzo) February 16, 2025
Firms tracking blockchain movements noted that a small number of wallets held most of the LIBRA tokens—indicative of a rug pull. In the crypto industry, rug pulls occur when developers raise funds for a project but then abandon it, cashing out and keeping investor money.
Argentine Leader Draws Fire After Cratering of Crypto Coin He Promoted
Javier Milei posted about the coin on social media, then deleted it and announced an investigation into whether any laws were broken.https://t.co/XMADAv6b6p— Aníbal Fernández (@FernandezAnibal) February 16, 2025
Argentina stocks plunge amid Libra fraud
Milei’s advisor on the LIBRA project, Kelsier Ventures CEO Hayden Davis, admitted to removing roughly $100 million from the LIBRA liquidity pool and is currently controlling the funds. Davis stated that he has no intention of personally profiting from the money and is awaiting direction from Milei and the Argentine government on what to do with it. The president’s office has ordered an investigation and denied prior knowledge of the LIBRA project.
A wild Valentines night here in Argentina: president Milei promoted a shady crypto that cratered shortly after. with @nataliealcoba for NYT https://t.co/IGHOcC0o9r
— Lucía Cholakian Herrera (@luciacholakian) February 16, 2025
Lawyers in Argentina have filed fraud charges against Milei, and a judge is expected to take action soon, according to the Associated Press.
