Argentina’s President Milei under scrutiny after promoting and deleting post on cratered LIBRA token

Argentine lawyers have filed a fraud complaint against President Javier Milei after he promoted but then deleted a post on X about the LIBRA token, which later dropped in value.

On Friday, Feb. 14, Argentina‘s President Javier Milei posted on X about the so-called LIBRA token, saying it would “incentivize the growth of the Argentine economy” by funding small businesses, per an Associated Press report. After the announcement, the token’s value quickly gained 3,223% but later crashed by 90% as Milei deleted the post five hours later, saying he had not been aware of the project’s details.

His administration later described the promotion as routine, claiming Milei was only supporting entrepreneurs. The president also announced an investigation into whether anyone in his government had acted improperly.

Argentina’s political opposition is now condemning Milei, with former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner accusing him of deception. Some lawmakers are pushing for a congressional investigation and even impeachment.

On Sunday, a group of lawyers formally accused Milei of fraud, saying his actions resembled a “rug pull” scam, where developers lure investors before abandoning a project. Lawyer Jonatan Baldiviezo argued that Milei’s involvement was essential to the alleged fraud. The country’s Anti-Corruption Office is now reviewing the case.

The crypto project, developed by KIP Protocol and Hayden Davis, allowed investors to buy tokens through a website referencing Milei’s famous slogan. Later in a video post on X, Davis blamed the president for the crash:

“Despite prior commitments, Milei and his team unexpectedly changed their position, withdrawing their support and deleting all previous posts on social media.”

Milei, meanwhile, dismissed critics as political opportunists, insisting he had no ties to the project. A judge is expected to review the case this week.

Potential insider activity

Blockchain analysts say someone anticipated LIBRA’s launch but bought in too late, losing over $5.3 million in crypto. Despite this, an unknown insider appears to have been compensated with $5 million worth of Circle’s USD Coin (USDC), according to Lookonchain in a Feb. 17 post on X. Rumors suggest the wallet may belong to Dave Portnoy, who received LIBRA tokens for promotion and had funds ready to buy in advance.

Analysts at Bubblemaps have linked on-chain wallet to the creator of LIBRA, who cashed out $87 million after the launch. The wallet also sniped LIBRA — meaning it quickly bought into the token at a low price before its value increased — and made $6 million using side addresses funded via cross-chain protocol.

Bubblemaps notes that similar on-chain activity was observed with the Official Melania Meme (MELANIA) coin, which has lost over 84% of its value since its launch.

The team also found other tokens tied to the wallet, such as TRUST, KACY, VIBES, and HOOD, which they believe were pump-and-dump schemes. Bubblemaps says the creator of LIBRA has made over $100 million from these projects.