Argentina’s President, Javier Milei, is beneath scrutiny after a cryptocurrency he endorsed on social media crashed, resulting in important losses for buyers. On Friday night time, Milei shared a tweet selling a little-known coin, $LIBRA, claiming it might assist stimulate the economic system and assist small companies in Argentina.
The coin’s worth skyrocketed nearly immediately, reaching a market cap of $4.4 billion. Nonetheless, inside hours, the cryptocurrency’s worth plummeted to beneath $1, inflicting heavy monetary losses. Many buyers, together with, noticed their investments dwindle by in just some hours.
Milei shortly deleted the tweet and later defined that he was unaware of the small print surrounding the coin earlier than selling it. He said that when he grew to become conscious of the state of affairs, he eliminated the submit and distanced himself from the mission.
The incident raised issues a couple of potential “rug pull” rip-off, the place builders artificially inflate the worth of a coin earlier than promoting off their holdings, leaving buyers with nugatory tokens. Regardless of the crash, the coin nonetheless holds a market worth of $250 million.
In accordance with Reuters, opposition lawmakers in Argentina have prompt that Milei might face an impeachment trial in Congress over the incident, whereas the nation’s fintech chamber acknowledged the potential of foul play.
The case has drawn consideration not solely to Milei’s involvement but in addition to the broader dangers of cryptocurrency investments, stressing how shortly the market can flip from hype to catastrophe.