The Argentine president, Javier Milei, took to social media on Friday to promote a project that involved investing in cryptocurrency to help finance small businesses. But, just hours later, he backtracked and decided not to give the project any more attention – and this was right in the midst of the investment collapsing.
What happened with the project?
Apparently, Milei wasn’t entirely clued up on the details of the project, and after getting a better understanding, he decided to distance himself from it, saying “I’m not going to continue giving dissemination to La Libertad Project” – which, by the way, has a pretty bold slogan: “Long live freedom, you know, the other thing.”
Initially, Milei had posted about the project on social media, including a link to the initiative, which claimed that the cryptocurrency was a private project aimed at boosting the Argentine economy by supporting small companies and enterprises. The tweet ended with “The world wants to invest in Argentina. $ Libra” – referring to a digital token based on blockchain technology that isn’t backed by real money.
Reactions from experts and opposition
Needless to say, economists and specialists from Argentina’s Crypto Universe, as well as opposition politicians, were quick to criticize Milei, suggesting that the digital asset could be a scam or a Ponzi scheme. Javier Smaldone, a computer specialist and influencer who’s known for exposing pyramid scams, tweeted that “The President of the Nation has just publicly launched a global scam (gross and obvious). And nothing will happen.”
According to Smaldone and other digital finance experts, like The Kobeissi Letter, a magazine that focuses on the capital market, around 80% of the $ Libra asset was controlled by just a few holders before Milei’s endorsement. After his tweet, the value of the asset skyrocketed, but then it collapsed – a maneuver that’s commonly known as a “rug pull” in the world of digital trading.
Opposition demands investigation
Opposition politicians, including Senator Martín Lousteau, were outraged, with some calling for an investigation into the matter. Lousteau pointed out that this was the second time Milei had promoted a cryptocurrency that ended up being a scam – the first being the Coinx platform in 2021, which promised monthly returns of 8% in dollars and is now being investigated for alleged scamming. Deputy Maximiliano Ferraro of the Civic Coalition also reacted, saying that what happened with $ Libra was a speculative maneuver that could have been leveraged by the president’s political power and use of privileged information. Ferraro believes that Congress should set up a special commission to look into the matter and determine who’s responsible.