Argentina’s president, Javier Milei, is facing significant backlash following the abrupt collapse of a cryptocurrency he promoted, leading to lawsuits and calls for his impeachment. Over 100 complaints have been filed against him at the country’s supreme court, accusing him of participating in an alleged scam related to the cryptocurrency $Libra, which is estimated to have caused financial losses for 40,000 people. On February 14, Milei posted a message on his X account, which has 3.8 million followers, promoting $Libra. The cryptocurrency’s value surged from fractions of a cent to $4.97 per unit within minutes but quickly plummeted to $0.19. Prosecutors are now determining if there are sufficient grounds to move forward with a criminal investigation. Milei is accused of inflating the price of the currency by promoting it on X and then withdrawing his support, causing the cryptocurrency to collapse. Former Argentinian president Cristina Kirchner labeled Milei as a “crypto fraudster” and accused him of turning the country into a casino. Opposition politicians are calling for Milei’s impeachment, while he has distanced himself from the collapse, claiming he did not benefit from the memecoin. The official account for the office of the Argentinian president stated that Milei has decided to involve the Anti-Corruption Office to determine if there was improper conduct. Hayden Mark Davis, one of the creators of $Libra, blamed Milei for the collapse, stating that Milei’s team had assured him of continued support. Despite the allegations, Davis said he still supports Milei and will continue to collaborate on other tokenization projects in Argentina. — news from WIRED
