Argentina’s President Denies Promoting Failed LIBRA Memecoin

Highlights:

• Milei denies promoting LIBRA memecoin, claiming he only shared information, not investment advice.
• The President says only around 5,000 traders were affected, not 44,000 as reported.
• LIBRA’s market crash followed Milei’s deleted post, sparking pump-and-dump accusations.

Argentine President Javier Milei has denied allegations that he actively promoted the LIBRA memecoin, which experienced a sharp pump and dump, resulting in significant investor losses. In a recent interview, Milei stated he only shared information about the token and didn’t urge people to invest in it. He said the impact on Argentina was small, with only four or five locals affected. Most traders were from China and the U.S.

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Milei denied reports of 44,000 affected investors, saying the real number was around 5,000. He added that most were experienced traders aware of the risks. He called the LIBRA case a private financial matter, not a government issue.

Milei said:

“I made no mistakes because I acted in good faith. But when I look at the political repercussions, I realize I have something to learn. I need to understand that after becoming president, I continued acting like the same Javier Milei as before. Unfortunately, this situation shows me that I need to raise my filters and not make myself so accessible.” 

This comes after Argentine lawyers Marcos Zelaya and Jonatan Baldiviezo, economist Claudio Lozano, and engineer María Eva Koutsovitis filed a criminal complaint on Sunday. They accused Milei of being complicit in fraud for promoting LIBRA.

It all began with this post at 5:01 PM ET from Javier Milei.

As seen during President Trump's memecoin launch, the first hour was full of speculation:

Was this a hack or a real launch?

It turned out to be real as multiple other Argentinian politicians posted the news. pic.twitter.com/cL0ZQgxtCB

— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) February 15, 2025

Milei Faces Backlash After LIBRA Post Leads to Pump-and-Dump Controversy

On Friday, Milei shared a post on X about LIBRA, stating it would aid small businesses in Argentina. He noted that the country lacks a strong capital market due to the state’s “mismanagement” in recent decades. Milei said it was privately managed and that he had no personal gain. After the post, the LIBRA token briefly exceeded a $4 billion market cap. However, it later plunged 94% after he deleted the post, sparking accusations of a pump-and-dump scheme.

Milei stated that he was unaware of the project’s details and withdrew his support after learning more. The President’s Office released a statement the next day, explaining that the post was deleted to “avoid speculation and limit further exposure” after public reaction to the project’s launch.

Milei’s Involvement with KIP Protocol

Milei mentioned that he met with representatives from KIP Protocol on Oct. 19 in Argentina, where they briefed him on the blockchain project. In response to the controversy, KIP, a Web3 company specializing in AI payment infrastructure, denied creating the token or acting as a market maker. The company confirmed its role as a tech consultancy hired to distribute project funds to local businesses in Argentina.

KIP also stated in a Feb. 17 X post that its CEO, Julian Peh, did not discuss a token launch during the October meeting with Milei and that the company was unaware of when the LIBRA token went live.

STATEMENT

(the following statement was drafted with help of legal counsel)

On 16 Feb 2025, the Office of the Presidency of the Argentine Republic released a statement (the “Statement”) in relation to the ‘Viva La Liberdad’ Project (the “Project”).

The Statement contains…

— KIP Protocol (@KIPprotocol) February 17, 2025

LIBRA Memecoin Insider Trading Allegations

After the token crash, LookOnChain reported that 8 wallets associated with the LIBRA team withdrew approximately $107 million by adding and removing liquidity, as well as collecting fees. They obtained 57.6 million USDC and 249,671 SOL, valued at around $49.7 million. However, Jupiter Exchange stated that the launch was known to memecoin insiders up to two weeks before its rise and fall. Jupiter found no evidence of insider trading by its team members. 

Recently, Ben Chow, co-founder of the Solana-based exchange Meteora, resigned following accusations related to the LIBRA memecoin. The crypto community criticized him for privately receiving or managing LIBRA tokens. Meow, the pseudonymous co-founder of Meteora and Jupiter, made the resignation announcement, emphasizing transparency. Meow also clarified that Meteora and Jupiter were not involved in insider trading or financial misconduct.

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