Key Details:
- Argentine President Javier Milei promoted a memecoin called Libra, which reached a market cap of $4.4 billion before collapsing by over 95%.
- In his now-deleted tweet, Milei described it as a project aimed at supporting the growth of the Argentinian economy, linking to a Solana contract address for Libra.
Overview
Argentina’s President Javier Milei recently reversed his endorsement of the memecoin Libra after the value soared to $4.4 billion only to plummet more than 95%. Initially, in a tweet, he stated:
“This is a private project dedicated to encouraging the growth of the Argentine economy,” alongside the contract address for Libra.
Libra’s value skyrocketed by over 2,000% in just 40 minutes following his tweet before quickly declining as early investors began to sell.
On social media, the account KobeissiLetter posted about alleged insider trading regarding Libra:
“We just witnessed one of the fastest and largest destructions of wealth in retail trading history… Argentina’s memecoin, $LIBRA, erased -$4.5 billion of retail capital in 7 hours. Truly destructive.”
Trading volume reached $1.1 billion after launch, suggesting that many small investors were buying while larger ones were selling, causing price volatility. Milei later clarified his lack of awareness regarding the project’s specifics, stating:
“A few hours ago I posted a tweet, as I have so many other times, supporting a supposed private enterprise with which I obviously have no connection whatsoever. I was not aware of the details of the project and after having become aware of it, I decided not to continue spreading the word (that is why I deleted the tweet).”
This incident also impacted the broader memecoin marketplace, with other tokens facing losses as a consequence.
