Original author: Alex Liu, Foresight News
Event Express
On the evening of February 17, 2025, Argentine President Javier Milei retweeted a tutorial on how to buy LIBRA tokens on X, causing the token price to surge from $0.35 to $0.77 in a short period of time, and then quickly fell back to $0.44, with an amplitude of more than 50% within 24 hours. This operation once again caused an uproar in the market - just three days ago, Milei had just promoted the LIBRA token and then deleted the tweet, which eventually caused the coin to plummet by 90%, but he claimed that he did not understand the details of the project and was controversial.
Market data: GMGN
The farce that began on February 15th continued to ferment: Mile initially announced the launch of LIBRA in a high-profile manner, saying that it would promote economic growth in Argentina, and the token price soared, with a market value of over $4.5 billion. However, within four hours, LIBRA plummeted 85%, and its market value evaporated by more than $4 billion, causing heavy losses to investors. On-chain data showed that the projects associated wallet had ambushed funds before the tweet was released, and cashed out $107 million through selling, and insider traders made a profit of more than $20 million.
Latest Developments
The president is jumping back and forth, and the market has become a puppet
Mile’s “delete tweet - forward” operation turned LIBRA into a tool for manipulation. After deleting the tweet on February 15, he argued that “I just shared information and did not participate in the project”, but his forwarding behavior on the night of the 17th stimulated market speculation again, and he was questioned for “manipulating emotions to cover the team’s shipments”. Facing public pressure, Mile insisted in a TV interview on the 17th: “Most of the losers are Chinese and American investors, and Argentines have hardly suffered any losses... I am not wrong, I just need to be more cautious in selecting projects.”
I didnt promote it, I just shared it. Argentine President Javier Mille repeatedly emphasized this sentence in a TV interview on February 17, trying to excuse the scandal of the 95% plunge of the LIBRA token. I acted with good intentions, but I got slapped in the face. Mille claimed in front of the camera that he got slapped in the face, but refused to admit his mistake, turning into a silly naive.
Legal battle escalates: from Argentina to the United States
On February 17, the Argentine opposition Civic Alliance (ARI) formally submitted an impeachment motion to Congress, accusing Mile of abusing his power to endorse private projects and demanding an investigation into whether he received benefits from KIP Protocol. On the same day, an Argentine law firm filed a criminal complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), accusing the LIBRA team of suspected transnational securities fraud and demanding an investigation into Miles role.
The American community also launched a counterattack: Previously, members of the Solayer team publicly stated that they had lost more than 2 million US dollars due to LIBRA, and threatened to take hacking actions against KIP Protocol members; other investors were preparing to initiate a class action lawsuit, accusing the project party of using the presidents influence to inflate shipments.
Political credibility collapses: probability of leaving office soars
As the incident unfolded, the trading volume of the betting contract on the Polymarket prediction platform that Mile will leave in 2025 exceeded US$20,000, and the probability of his leaving rose from 5% before the incident to 20%.
This scandal has made Argentinas international image a laughing stock, said opposition lawmaker Leandro Santoro.
If Polymarkets prediction comes true, Miley may become the first head of state to fall due to a crypto project.
Future Direction
On the legal level, the US SEC may intervene in the investigation of insider trading. If it is confirmed that Miley knew about it, it may trigger the extradition clause. On the political level: the Argentine Congress will debate the impeachment motion on February 20, and Miley needs to submit a complete report on the LIBRA incident to Congress.
Milleys presidential approval rating remains at 47% due to easing inflation, but his erratic personality is exacerbating public doubts. It remains to be seen whether his presidency is secure and whether he can get out of this crypto controversy unscathed.
Conclusion
From liberal reform pioneer to crypto fraud suspect, Milleys 48-hour farce exposed the absurd nature of the Meme coin market. As the on-chain data reveals: in the greed-driven crypto world, the presidents account can also be a harvesting tool. And Milleys defense - I did this because I am a hardcore technology optimist - may become the paleest footnote when politicians are involved in financial bubbles.
It is very unlikely that Argentines will participate, Mile insisted. But when national credit becomes a speculative bet, who can pay for the cost of decentralization? The answer may be hidden in the next K-line crash.
