“The scam promoted by Milei, an atomic bomb at the heart of the government,” “Cryptogate,” “an unprecedented crisis.” On Sunday, February 16, the Argentine press echoed the political and financial scandal caused by the promotion of a cryptocurrency by the country’s ultraliberal president, Javier Milei, in power since December 2023.
It all began with a message posted on his X account on Friday, February 14. “Liberal Argentina is growing!!!,” he said, inviting people to buy a cryptocurrency, $LIBRA, supposed to help the development of small businesses. His publication included the link to the project, vivalalibertadproject.com, a clear reprise of the presidential slogan “Viva la libertad.”
A crypto asset recommended by a president, an economist to boot: Thousands of people invested, the cryptocurrency’s price soared, before crashing after a few hours. “The result? Only nine people earned $87 million (€83 million), while more than 44,000 others lost everything they put in (…) a Ponzi scheme across the board, promoted by Javier Milei,” said Spanish economist Eduardo Garzón, on X.
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