On February 14, Javier Milei posted a link to the Libra meme coin project on X, touting its dedication to “encouraging the growth of the Argentine economy.” Hours later, the Argentine President deleted the tweet and posted, “I was not aware of the details of the project and after having become aware of it I decided not to continue spreading it.”
During the hours in between, Libra’s price increased from pennies to almost $5 before steeply declining to pennies. Now, Milei’s opponents are calling for his impeachment. The scandal has also ensnared Milei’s sister and General Secretary, Karina Milei—his closest advisor and gatekeeper. She first met with a crypto consultant at the Casa Rosada, who later introduced the president to parties involved with Libra, according to La Nacion. Milei denied wrongdoing and that he influenced unsuspecting investors despite his supporters’ losing money.
The Argentinian peso loses value daily because of high inflation, and Argentinians convert pesos to dollars or another store of value to keep up with rising costs. As such, the country has the highest adoption rate of cryptocurrencies in the Western Hemisphere, according to Forbes.
“In Argentina, and in a situation like this, [crypto] has an appeal,” said Matías Vernengo, economics professor and director of the Bucknell Institute for Public Policy. “Crypto offers not just a possibility of escaping the devaluation of the peso, but also perhaps making a buck.”
Known for wielding a chainsaw, Milei has been working to bolster the central bank’s reserves and remove the country’s currency controls by 2026. Austerity measures include firing thousands of government workers, shuttering agencies, cutting various subsidies, halting infrastructure projects, and freezing wages and pensions to below inflation. Despite lower inflation and a smaller gap between the official and black market “Blue Dollar” rates, unemployment and poverty rates increased. As the scandal unfolds, Milei won a victory in the Senate to cancel this year’s primary elections ahead of the October midterm vote, of which he only holds 6 of the 72 seats. He also traveled to the Conservative Political Action Conference where he gifted a chainsaw to Elon Musk.
