Argentinian President and LIBRA Token Scam
After the LIBRA token dropped 95% in value over the weekend, a coalition of Argentine lawyers accused President Javier Milei of fraud. The accusation was because Milei has been a strong promoter of the token.
Plaintiff Jonatan Baldiviezo said that the President’s actions and illicit association were a crime of fraud. Claudio Lozano, an economist and former chief of Argentina’s Central Bank, is another plaintiff in the case, along with an engineer and a lawyer.
However, Milei has insisted on not being involved in the issue and has denied being informed of the token’s scheme. While some of his political opponents wanted an impeachment trial, his administration declared it would launch an inquiry into the token initiative.
President Javier Milei said that he has already engaged the Anti-Corruption Office (OA) to determine whether there was illegal activity in the hands of any official of the National Government, including himself. Project advisor Hayden Davis claimed that Milei’s decision to stop supporting the project caused investors to lose faith in it, which in turn caused the price to plummet.
On-chain data, however, indicates that the price had already dropped sharply from its peak before Milei withdrew his endorsement. Rumors that insiders in the token project cashed $107 million in trading charges and liquidity pool monies triggered an earlier selling wave.
Davis stated that he intends to purchase and burn the token to reinvest as much as $100 million, or the funds under his control, back into the project. According to those familiar with the matter, a judge might be assigned to the case as early as tomorrow.
Dave Portnoy Released 6M LIBRA Tokens to Project’s Founder
Recently, Dave Portnoy, the creator of Barstool Sports, revealed that he gave back 6M Libra tokens to Hayden Davis, the project’s founder, which he had received in exchange for agreeing to promote it. Portnoy claimed that after the Libra founder instructed him not to reveal that the project paid him to advertise the token online, he returned the money to Davis.
The founder of Barstool Sports stated during a recent X Spaces event that he received between 6 and 6.5M tokens as payment but also bought Libra tokens. The Barstool Sports executive claimed he kept in touch with Davis while the Libra token he bought crashed in value.
Portnoy concluded that Davis probably did not set out to deceive investors, and the President might have suddenly changed his mind about Davis during the launch, leading to unanticipated issues.
Argentinian President Is on the Hot Seat
Viva la Libertad, which included a cryptocurrency token named Libra (LIBRA), was proposed as a scheme to raise money for startups and small enterprises in Argentina. In a since-deleted X post, President Javier Milei first supported the token by endorsing it.
However, Milei dissociated himself from the project after Libra’s collapse and accusations of insider scam, saying he had minimal knowledge of the idea before promoting it online. The populist leader, elected in November 2023, may be compelled to step down if opposition parties successfully impeach him.
MELANIA Token Team’s Relation to the LIBRA Token
Meanwhile, on-chain data shows that the MELANIA token was created by the same group that introduced the Solana-based Argentine meme coin, LIBRA. The blockchain data analytics platform (Bubblemaps) reported on-chain traces that show 0xcEA, a wallet associated with the MELANIA developer, is also funding the creator of LIBRA.
In addition, 0xcEA used several side addresses financed by CCTP to snipe $LIBRA and profit $6 million. The LIBRA meme coin crashed on February 15, hours after its inception, shedding $4.4 billion in market capitalization and bringing down the token’s market value.
On-chain investigation revealed that 82% of LIBRA’s token supply was held in one group, and insiders strategically manipulated liquidity to withdraw $87.4 million in just three hours, contributing to the token’s total collapse.
