Argentina's president admits to meeting with Libra group, denies accusations of support

Argentine President Javier Milei on Monday resolved the controversy over cryptocurrencies that has sparked lawsuits, calls for impeachment, and a political storm. In a television interview with Todo Noticias on Monday, Milei admitted to having met the creators of the Libra cryptocurrency. However, he asserted that his social media post was not intended to persuade people to invest. Instead, he claimed that he was only sharing information about an initiative to support Argentine entrepreneurs through digital currency. "I'm not an expert. My specialty is economic growth, with and without money," Bloomberg reported Milei said. "As a super tech enthusiast who sees the possibility of having a tool to fund entrepreneurial projects, I spread the word."

Opponents of political push for impeachment over controversy related to Libra Despite her plea, Milei now faces fraud charges for allegedly promoting fake cryptocurrencies. Over the weekend, local lawyers filed a criminal complaint against him. His political opponents have also seized on this controversy. The left-wing Peronist opposition has accused him of involvement in a cryptocurrency scam and pushed for impeachment for alleged ethics violations. The scandal broke out after Milei promoted Libra on X last Friday. His endorsement caused a surge, pushing the market capitalization of this token to $4.5 billion in a short period. However, within a few hours, Milei deleted his post, causing the price of Libra to collapse in a move that critics call a classic pump and dump. According to Dexscreener data, investors who bought in at the peak witnessed millions of dollars wiped out. Shortly after, the president separated himself from the project, stating that he was not aware of the specific details of the token and decided to stop promoting it after further investigation. This sudden reversal raised speculation that his social media account may have been compromised. Argentine's Milei accused of withdrawing after ensuring support for Libra As the debate deepened, Hayden Davis, a figure associated with the Libra project through Kelsier Ventures, accused Milei's group of abruptly withdrawing support. According to Davis, the president's initial support was clear, and his group had directly assured project leaders of his full support before suddenly changing course—leading to the collapse of the Libra market. Meanwhile, the Financial Times reported that Milei described this consequence as a "slap in the face" but still asserted that his intention was sincere. "I'm a tech optimist... and this was proposed to me as a tool to help finance Argentine projects," he said. "It's true that when I tried to help those Argentines, I got slapped in the face." Minimize investor losses To deal with the scandal, Milei is believed to have requested the anti-corruption office of the judicial branch to investigate whether any wrongdoing occurred - by him or any government official. However, in another statement, Milei tried to downplay the level of damage. DB Newswire reported that he denied reports that 44,000 investors had incurred losses, stating that the actual number is close to 5,000. He also emphasized that most affected investors are from China and the United States, not Argentina.

“Having 44,000 people affected is incorrect, at most there are only 5,000 people,” he said. The likelihood of having Argentinians participate is very low. These are individuals with high expertise in this type of financial instrument. Participants are well aware of the risks—they are volatile traders. This is a private matter between individuals and they participate voluntarily.