Milei meme coin endorsement angers political opponents, lawmaker calls for impeachment
Argentine opposition lawmakers have called for President Javier Milei’s impeachment after his promotion of a cryptocurrency that collapsed, wiping out $4.4 billion in market value and raising questions about presidential conduct.
The controversy began after Milei posted a recommendation for the $LIBRA token on X, causing the price to surge to nearly $5 before crashing within hours.
Opposition lawmaker Leandro Santoro announced plans for an impeachment request, declaring the incident “embarrasses us on an international scale.”
The Solana (SOL)-based token, purportedly designed to boost Argentina’s economy through small project funding, showed multiple red flags from inception.
The project’s hastily created website featured only a basic Google Form for funding applications and lacked fundamental tokenomics information or ownership transparency.
On-chain analysis revealed a coordinated extraction of value by insiders, with the project team accumulating $107 million through sophisticated liquidity manipulation.
Eight connected wallets gathered 57.6 million USDC and 249,671 SOL ($49.7 million) through various trading mechanisms, marking one of the fastest and largest collapses in meme coin history.
Argentina’s fintech chamber mentions possibility of a rug pull
Argentina’s fintech chamber has acknowledged the possibility of a “rug pull” scheme, where developers artificially inflate a token’s value through legitimate investments before liquidating their positions.
The incident has drawn Argentina’s cryptocurrency governance under the spotlight and raised concerns about presidential judgment in digital asset matters.
Milei attempted to distance himself from the controversy, deleting his promotional post and claiming ignorance of the project’s details. In a statement, he characterized the backlash as an attempt by “filthy rats of the political caste” to undermine his presidency. However, opposition members view his involvement as potentially impeachable conduct.
Similarities to Trump
Milei’s aggressive “chainsaw” approach to slashing government spending mirrors President Donald Trump’s efforts to decrease federal regulations and funding, Reuters reported.
Trump’s critics have also taken issue with his endorsement of meme coins and the conflicts of interest that arise from his crypto profits — all while investors suffer billions in losses.
