On Sunday, multiple criminal charges were filed by lawyers against President Javier Milei of Argentina for promoting the meme coin $LIBRA. The value of the meme coin, launched on February 14, peaked at almost $5 before falling by more than 90 percent within just a few hours, erasing $4.4 billion in market capitalization.
There were also moves in the Argentine congress to start impeachment proceedings.
Milei had promoted the meme coin on social media, saying, “This private project will be dedicated to encouraging the growth of the Argentine economy,” and linking to the $LIBRA project.
As the cryptocoin’s value collapsed, Milei deleted his initial post, claiming he was “not aware of the details of the project.”
“The similarity to President Trump’s launching of his own meme coin on the same platform on January 17, $TRUMP, is striking, as is the corruption,” economist and CEPR Co-Director Mark Weisbrot said.
“The big difference is that in Argentina, public and political outrage at the fleecing of investors by a Ponzi scheme forced Milei quickly to try and disown his project, while Trump’s project survives and can continue to generate profits for the creators for at least three more years.”
The two controversies have become inseparable in most media reporting and commentary on the Argentine $LIBRA. Among the issues: the strategy of “pump and dump,” or “the rug pull,” whereby the value of cryptocurrencies or meme coins are allowed to rise rapidly before the inner circle pulls out and there is a crash; the millions of dollars of losses for small investors, and the corresponding gains for the creators; and the appearance of corruption and the potential for more.
For the meme coin $TRUMP, 80 percent of the coins are reportedly held by the creators, including President Trump’s companies. They can sell about 24 million coins per month, which can deliver billions of dollars in profits over the next three years. By the end of January, they had already garnered about $100 million in trading fees.
It is “Idi Amin level corruption,” said an X post by Anthony Scaramucci, who served briefly as Trump’s White House communications director and is currently a crypto enthusiast and investor.
The Trump family companies’ investments in the meme coin have raised a number of big questions about possible political corruption. The most obvious, and perhaps dangerous, is that the president is exerting enormous power over the agencies that are in charge of enforcing the laws that regulate crypto. He nominates the heads of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the Secretary of the Treasury. This “may represent the single worst conflict of interest in the modern history of the presidency,” as one expert has noted.
Others have pointed out that the meme coin and its ownership provide a relatively simple pathway for foreign (as well as domestic) actors to buy hidden influence at the White House. A number of economists, including some of the most prominent, have argued that cryptocurrency has not been shown to have practical use outside of illicit activities, which include money laundering, ransom payments, illegal drug sales, and speculative investment.
The price of Bitcoin has risen by 38 percent since President Trump was elected 14 weeks ago.
Millei is planning to visit the US this Thursday, where he may meet with President Trump and Elon Musk.
“Milei will be looking to Trump for support, as part of a loose confederation of corrupt officials, including heads of state, who promote and at the same time seek to profit from the spread of cryptocurrencies. Members of Congress and the media should ask him tough questions about his role in these high-risk schemes that have produced many millions of dollars of losses for people who relied on his judgment,” said Weisbrot.
“They need to do the same for Trump here.
“Milei will also be seeking more support from the IMF; they should ask the same questions, in accordance with their rules and by-laws.”
